


Blossoming Lotus

by Expopanda



Category: Bleach, D.Gray-man
Genre: Action/Adventure, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Angst with a Happy Ending, Cross-Posted on FanFiction.Net, Fluff and Angst, Mystery, Second Exorcist Program, Zanpakuto Rebellion Arc, no betas we die like men
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-19
Updated: 2020-10-09
Packaged: 2021-03-07 20:55:27
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 25,184
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26544058
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Expopanda/pseuds/Expopanda
Summary: When the Arc malfunctions Lavi and Kanda find themselves in the Soul Society. As they fight to return to the Black Order a murder mystery in the Soul Society might be the answer to ending the Holy War once and for all.
Relationships: relationships? just wait and see
Comments: 2
Kudos: 22





	1. Prologue

_When the 320 districts of the soul society were just built and not yet inhabited, the King of Souls and the God of the sword Ōetsu Nimaya, both of them weary, sat down to speak of the future._

_" But how will the soul reapers effectively protect such a large territory?" The Soul King asked with little interest._

_"We should let one of the noble families worry about that," Ōetsu commented without much care, stretching out his arms._

_"But shouldn't we give them something to make the job a little easier?" The Soul King questioned, glancing at his friend._

_Ōetsu felt a nervous sweat develop on the back of his neck. He didn't like it when the Soul King had that tone of voice; it usually involved unwanted complications. "Hey, I'm gonna be busy building all the new Zanpaukto so— "_

_" Build them something." The Soul King ordered his tone left no room for argument._

_So the first clan head was given a box, told to guard it carefully and solemnly sworn to secrecy. When he grew old, and his time was up, It was given to the next clan head who also kept the secret carefully, As did the next clan head and many clan heads yet to come. But the 25th head of the noble clan was less honorable and more power-hungry than the heads who had come before him._

_He took the box from the protection of its hiding place. And was attacked with the full might of the Soul Society's mysterious Kido Corps. However, no one could capture the clan head. The clan knew not of the artifact's power, only that it was now gone and that they had failed in their sacred duty. And so the 25th head of the clan disappeared before he could return the box to its hiding place or tell his successor about it. He died, and so the box of power given to the Soul Society by the Soul King was forgotten. Lost to the Reishi of the vast unknown._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So.. I wrote chapter two before I wrote chapter one so it's probably going to be a while before I update.
> 
> Also kudos to anyone who came name the book the prologue idea came from.


	2. Chapter 1

X~X~X~X~X

No man is happy without a delusion of some kind. Delusions are as necessary to our happiness as realities.

Chrisitian Nestell Bovee

X~X~X~X~X

The weather is warm, and the air smells sweet, it's not like the battlefield that smells like blood and death.

"Hey, Yuu, do you know about sakura trees? Apparently, in Japan, there's tons of them, and when you go there, they even have festivals, and it's pink _everywhere,_ don't you wanna go some time?"

"Why don't you go alone?" Kanda spat back, even though something inside him cringes at the harsh words. He tries to speak again, but he feels like he's being squeezed, and his neck feels scratchy. Familiar hands are wrapped around his neck tightly, but it doesn't feel friendly like they usually are. When he realizes who the hands belong to, the world is moving violently, and he's surrounded by puddles of blood.

Alma looks strange; it's different from the crystallized innocence structures the doctors forced them to synchronize with. Alma looks deformed, and it scares him. It makes him think of the bedtime stories Edgar would tell them about Akuma made by the Millenium Earl. Is Alma an Akuma now? But it should be impossible. The two of them are supposed to be the good guys.

He can feel himself crying out, but no sound comes out, and something warm drips down his body as Alma's clawed hand bursts through his chest.

_Let's die together Yuu!_

Kanda jerked violently, hitting his head on the edge of the practice dummy; a moment later, he felt foolish. He rises from the heated floor quickly to hide his shame, 

_fool,_ He’s Dead. Calm down.

Labored pants fill the empty dojo; the only other sounds are made by crickets from the outside. Che. It was such a pathetic dream. He had no right to miss Alma, not after what he’d done. Maybe it was his guilty conscience punishing him, but he remembers his pleasant times with Alma in his dreams, and every now and then, he was grateful.

However, it is clear that his earlier meditation had done no good. The voice had screamed louder than it had in a while, Mei Chang always encouraged him to meditate to deal with the hallucinations. So he always found himself meditating before meetings with his therapist though the effectiveness is debatable. Lenalee and the others always assumed he meditated purely for pleasure, and he never challenged their assumptions. The embarrassment would be too great if it became common knowledge around the order that Yuu Kanda had a few screws loose.

To be honest, he had been waiting for his next session for some time. Unfortunately, aside from the generals, Kanda is probably the most active exorcist in the entire order. After what happened to Alma, he found that no one in the order truly trusted him, and he was always met with suspicion. It didn’t help that his mental instability had almost prevented him from becoming an accommodator.

Before the collapse of the Asian Research Laboratory, Six reports of his hallucinations involving flowers and blonde-haired women had reached the ears of Lvellie and the other big wigs at the Vatican. Not wanting him to corrupt the other exorcist with his insanity, the directors had made him specialize in extermination jobs so that Kanda was constantly on mission. The distance between him and other exorcists helped remind him that he was something different from the others. He was further alienated due to the fact that he was the only one in the order required to undergo mental health screenings.

He couldn’t count the number of times he had been whisked away under the guise of training only to be interrogated about his mental state. However, as much as he hated The Order’s constant probing into his mind, he needed this next appointment. The illusions have only been getting worse, and worse, they were even affecting his performance in the field. On his last mission, a Finder had been assigned to accompany him despite his protests that the Finder would only become dead weight.

Literally.

Everything had gone smoothly until he chased the straggling Akuma to the city center for extermination. Pushing himself to his limit, he killed the Akuma for 3 hours straight. At some point, he supposed the Finder had grown concerned for him. Which was unneeded; Kanda was capable of taking care of himself.

When he was about to slay the last Akuma, the Lotus flowers sudden appearance caused his vision to go spotty. It took about five minutes for him to stop seeing petals, and when he became self aware again, he realized he was standing inches away from the Finder and had almost skewered him. The air had been pungent with the smell of urine, the Finder pissing his pants in fear. Kanda didn’t want to think about how long he had stood there motionless sword inches away from the Finder’s throat.

Thankfully his golem had not been present to record his behavior, Lvellie would have found a reason to punish him, and Tiedoll— the old fool— would be in tears. His hair swished violently as he tugged harshly on his bootstraps, forming tight knots. Resuming his sword drills on the dummy, he tried not to think about the assortment of lotus blossoms obscuring his vision. Was it twisted that he hallucinated the very flower that kept him alive? 

Time passed quickly, and before he knew it, he was walking down familiar halls towards the orders confession box. Kanda's mental evaluations were performed in house; none of the orders doctors were specialized in psychology or therapy. This was due in part to the massacre of doctors that happened nine years ago at the Asian Research Laboratory.

Still, he would have been more comfortable if they did this outside of exorcist headquarters. Kanda didn't like the order. Within the Vatican's corrupt walls, the boundary between the moral and the wicked was questionable. It didn't seem right that those kinds of people got to evaluate his mental stability.

The Black Order was drenched in a deep tradition of upholding the religious practices of the Vatican. This didn't bode well for its members. Most Vatican issued doctors put their faith in victorian exorcism rather than actual medicine. They sang praises of the benefits expelling evil spirits possessing sick's bodies had on improving health. The location for his therapy sessions also showed their faith in religion, healing the sick. Rather than a typical therapy office, it was done in a catholic confession box. Confession boxes were a place for admitting sins to ask for forgiveness. He hardly believed being forced to talk and confess was a tool the average therapist used.

When he first arrived at the Order, the catholic exorcists had been obsessed with saving his childish soul. They weren't informed about his hallucinations; exorcists were just told that Kanda was possessed by a great evil that prevented him from sleeping. He had gone through numerous exorcisms where they tied him down attempting to remove the evil with the power of holy water and crosses. Laughable. He'd like to see how'd they do face to face with the Akuma.

Eventually, after many failures of the catholic exorcists, the Vatican decided to take a more godly approach to control his outbursts. It had been a shock to see the face of Zu Mei Chang a year after the incident. Kanda had assumed that Alma had killed him along with the others. To be honest, he hadn't believed that Mei Chang possessed the power to ease his suffering. At the time, the exorcisms combined with the hallucinations left him in a state more unstable than he'd been when he first activated innocence.

He was grateful that he had been proven wrong. Even if the presence of Mei Chang left him feeling uncomfortable at times. Particularly on nights he had nightmares about the synchro tests.

When he arrived, he pulled back the purple drape of the confession box. Sitting down quietly with a thunk. The box is narrow and built so he couldn't be seen by the one treating him. There was a strained cough, and the aged voice of Zu Mei Chang echoed out through the hollow walls.

"Have the missions been manageable?" Che. He always started like this, pestering Kanda about pointless personal details. Didn't the bastard realize he simply wanted to be medicated and sent on his way?

"Nothing I couldn't handle." Kanda finally replied realizing the old doctor wouldn't move on until he answered. He could be a stubborn fool.

"How about the woman? Have you been seeing more of her?" Kanda's body became tense as he shook his head; he hated talking about her and hadn't dreamed of her since he murdered Alma. They continued on with needless questions about how he felt about himself and the holy war before moving on to why he was really here.

"What of the flowers? I understand you and Alma enjoyed talking about them?" The fuck. How did he know about that? One principle he refused to tell anyone about his time with Alma. The confession box grew frigid as if the air itself knew the wrong question had been asked. However, the old doctor continued to press in that direction.

"You mustn't dwell on it." The man begged. You could tell he'd given the same speech multiple times before.

"It's an illusion." The man continued his tone, emphasizing his point. "The flower is an illusion."

He damn well knew that, but knowing didn't prevent his eyes from seeing them forcing him to think of the woman who'd taken Alma away from him.

Kanda began to hear a sizzling sound, and a squeezing pressure began to build in his ears and temple. Mei Chang had activated the power of the spirit stone. This was the real treatment. The spirit stone could shove his memories and illusions to the edges of his mind like they had never been there in the first place. As the process continued, his muscles relaxed against his will, and he was filled with a floaty sensation.

"Yuu, how does it feel?" he could barely get his numb tongue to give a confident answer. He always felt the same when this happened. The sessions made his head feel stuffy, leaving him with a lethargic feeling. The limbo the numbing of the stone left him in made thinking impossible. In that state, he usually returned to his room to sleep it off. Being seen like that by Black Order staff would lead to tedious questions.

When his treatment was finished he left without a word of parting, Kanda stood from the rickey bench and marched off to his room. _I better not run into any annoyances._ He wouldn't be able to deal with that in his current mood.

X~X~X~X~X

Lavi groaned, stretching his arms out before jumping forward. He was finally back! The mission had been so dull with only the old panda for company. Throughout the entire mission, the panda pestered him about keeping his objectivity as a Bookman. Which was like, completely unnecessary. He had exemplary focus.

The Gatekeeper's scanners enveloped him with its warm yellow light. When he entered the walls of the order, the opening halls were crowded with Finders. "Hey, Lavi, your back from assignment?" He turned his head; the voice belonged to a Finder he had gotten particularly close to during his early missions. So, he was still alive.

"Walter, How'd the date go?"

The man grinned. "Same as always, how about you? Still breaking hearts in every town?"

"What can I say I'm a healthy teen charming ladies is my life's calling." he chatted with the man for a bit longer before moving on.

Where is Yuu-Chan? It had been too long since he'd gotten the chance to mess with him. He was about to go off and find the Samurai when his stomach growled loudly. _I better get some grub first. Maybe I'll run into Allen._ As he made his way to the mess hall, he couldn't help but notice the increased personnel. In his short walk, he counted a minimum of twenty-three Finders he couldn't recognize. On top of that, lurking out of sight in the rafters of the cathedral-like building were men dressed in sleeveless red tops with a hollow yellow diamond shape in the middle.

The clothing reminded him of the masked CROWs from Vatican headquarters. What is the Vatican doing here? They preferred to hand down complaints from their lofty perches in Vatican City. Is the Vatican still suspicious about Allen being the 14th? Whatever the reason, things would be getting tense at Exorcist Headquarters.

Giving Jerry a quick greeting, Lavi collapsed into a nearby table with a steaming steak in front of him. The meat's taste was heavenly; all the food he'd eaten in the past month had been horribly stale and cold. Making him crave Jerry's cooking and the warmth of the mess hall. The hall was always a rowdy place full of Finders. Every day there were excited onlookers placing bets when Allen decided to stuff his face.

Despite all the noise in the mess hall, it is the quiet sounds that draw in his attention.

"How come he's the only one who comes back alive?"

"Heard he uses finders as shields to keep himself from dying." A louder voice spoke out. "He even tried to kill a finder on his last mission, we’re not safe around him."

 _Yuu._ It seems his long-haired friend had done something to anger the Finders again. Most Finders couldn't accept Yuu's hostile personality. He never tried to get on their good side, avoiding missions with Finders and Exorcists alike. From what he's heard the few times Yuu accepted missions with Finders, they had a tendency to die gruesome deaths.

By the time he had finished his meal, most of the agitated Finders had left the room. The lights flickered off, and he could hear Jerry cleaning pots and shuttering the counter's window. The hall would be closing soon, but he wasn't in any hurry to leave. He liked staying here. Sitting here and eating made him feel more like an average person and less like a holy soldier in a never-ending war.

He could hear fast-paced footsteps coming down the hallway, huh, he guessed he wasn't the only one who could care less about when the mess hall closed. The man who entered the room had a stained lab coat and heavy bags under his eyes.

"Section Chief Reever! Here for a late night snack?" The scientist was holding a coffee cup, and from the way his hand was shaking, it wasn't his first one.

I'm afraid not Lavi. I have a mission for you." Seriously? He hadn't even been here four hours, and they were trying to send him back? The inhumanity. Standing up, Lavi walked over to the man kneeling at his feet.

"I know times must be tough," he forced a hard sniff out his nose. "But I've just been reunited with my sweet Yuu-chan, surely you understand?" the redhead tugged on the edges of Reever's lab coat to emphasize his suffering.

Reever had to stop a groan from leaving his mouth. He'd just returned from a mission and still had energy for these antics? Lavi's a different breed of human.

"I hate to do this, but it's an important mission. Kanda will be going along as well."

Lavi removed himself from his begging position. Yuu was going? He hadn't gone on a mission with his favorite exorcist since The Order regained possession of the Ark six months ago. Having a chance to torment Yuu again would be so much fun.

"Well, if that's the case, count me in. Where is he? Already with Komui?" Reever gave a nervous chuckle. "Actually, we believe he is currently sleeping so if you wouldn't mind—"

Oh, hell no. he already knew where this was going. Waking up, Yuu is a thankless task. The exorcist couldn't be caught sleeping often, but when he was rousing him was a near impossible task. Those who succeeded were met with Mugen's hilt. Sure he likes to mess with Yuu, but he usually wasn't stupid enough to do so while the exorcist was sleeping.

But the begging look the Section Chief threw at him made Lavi give in. It didn't matter much anyway Yuu-chan threatened his life on the daily.

He made a quick stop at the table, picking up his discarded hammer before heading out. The location of Yuu's room was just like him, secluded and unwelcoming. While all the other exorcists lived together in the same hall. Yuu lived separately; his room is closer to the Black Order's prayer rooms and church halls. If that didn't make his room's location foreboding, the fact that it was right next to the morgue definitely did.

He wondered why Yuu lived in such a place, sure the Samurai loved his personal space, but plenty of other rooms were on deserted hallways. Besides, from what he could tell, Yuu isn't the least bit religious. Whenever there was a mass burial for their fallen comrades, Lenalee would start a prayer circle for them. Yuu never once joined.

Reaching his destination, he knocked on the iron door fervently "Yuu-chan! Come out and play!" There was no response. This wasn't going to be as easy as he hoped. Reaching into his pocket, he picked up the spare room key Reever had given him. When Yuu found out, others could get into his room whenever they pleased, he would be pissed.

The door unlocked with a hollow click, and the hinges creaked open. The room was sparse, a blank slate devoid of any personality. The only personal item Lavi could see was his black golem resting on a bird perch. Cute, maybe he should get Yuu a pet? The raven-haired exorcist hadn't woken up during his intrusion. Yuu slept on his stomach with his arms tucked under his pillow, head turned to the left. The way he slept was crude in comparison to how sophisticated he usually looked.

Creeping closer, he stood over the motionless body. "Yuu, you wanna get up? We have things to do." The silence continued even as Lavi began stroking the black hair pulling it together to start braiding. "If you don't wake up soon, I'm gonna do something that's gonna get me killed." He got about halfway through the braid when there was shifting on the bed. Dark eyes blinked open, staring at him dazedly.

This was it. Lavi either lived or made this room his permanent resting place.

X~X~X~X~X

Kanda felt warm. The oblivion of sleep is relaxing. He didn't remember when he'd finally nodded off, but it had taken a long time despite his exhaustion. When he lived in Research Laboratory Six, they'd given him a room after pulling him out of that pool. But he found that the spacious room made him uncomfortable. He preferred the cramped nature of the pool he'd been born in. Snuggling deeper into his pillow, he heard shuffling noises. He ignored them. It was probably Briar. His golem was most likely fluttering about; the creature was more active at night.

He assumed Briar had flown into his bedsheets at some point because he felt pressure sitting down on his mattress. He feels something in his hair; it's stroking the strands softly and... tugging? Alma wasn't around; he's the only one allowed to touch Kanda's hair. Dazed, he slowly cracks open an eye. He smells old parchment, and there's rusty red hair in his face.

It takes a moment for his sleep-addled mind to reboot. He growls with anger when he finally realizes what's going on. Shoving a barefoot in the red head's face, he forces Lavi off the bed. Springing forward, he grabs his sword leaning against the nightstand, sliding the blade out of its sheath. He places the cold metal against the intruder's neck.

"You must be fearless to show your face here."

"Ne, Yuu-chan, I know how this looks, but there's actually a really good reason for—-" He lets the blade glide against Lavi's throat in a veiled threat. "I couldn't care less." Clearly, Lavi wanted to be next on the chopping block. It took him forever to fall asleep, and his earlier therapy session had left him exhausted.

There's a shriek as Lavi crawls backward on his hands and knees away from Mugen, knocking books from a nearby shelf in his attempt to escape. Kanda grabbed on to the hammer wielder's trailing red scarf, jerking him back. He'd be making rabbit skin boots tonight.

Lavi is pulled upward from the tugging and stares up into Kanda's furious gaze. Lavi felt a new wave of fear fill him. Eyes flickering around for a means of escape he made eye contact with the golem which, until now, had been peacefully resting on his perch. The black golem was now floating in the middle of the room, observing the scene with its single eye.

"Ya gotta save me your masters about to kill me!" The creature was unimpressed as it flew over to Kanda's shoulder.

"Prepare to die, Baka Usagi" Lavi forced himself on his knees for one final appeal. "I swear, look, I only came here because Reever made me. We have a mission, okay!"

A mission? He hadn't seen Lavi for the last few days, which meant he'd just returned. If The Order was already sending him on another mission so soon after returning, it must be important. Kanda walked over to his nightstand, grabbing a hair tie before skillfully pulling black tresses into a high ponytail.

Che. Looks like they'd been put back to work. He walked out his bedroom ignoring the sigh of relief Lavi let out behind him. Whatever Komui wanted, it better be good. He stormed down the hall, leaving flustered Finders in his wake.

X~X~X~X~X

The Science Department is entirely deserted from what he heard Johnny and the other science division members had gone out on a field trip. He didn't know what could interest those shut-ins; they hardly ever left the building. Still it mustn't be very fascinating if the section chief hadn't gone along. When he reached Komui's office, he slammed the door open.

Komui's office is disgusting, bookshelves surrounded every wall, papers and files were strewn across the floor in multiple heaps. He could hear a coffee pot boiling, but he couldn't see the pot in question through the wreckage. Komui is slumped over his desk. A bunny mug with fresh coffee had spilled onto his hand. Its impressive how even coffee burning the living daylights out of his hand wasn't enough to wake him up.

Lavi came in through the open door and marched straight to Komui without hesitation. Bending down, the exorcist whispered in the branch head's ear.

"No, not my sweet Lenalee!" Komui's hand-launched out blindly, clocking Lavi in the face as he stood up

"Oh, Lenalee, why do you always try to leave your brother behind—-" Kanda watched as the man babbled on about marriage and wedding vows. Komui's proficiency in self-delusion is impressive. How the man reacted that way to the same phrase, every time was ridiculous.

Lavi offered the sobbing chief a tissue, "Come on, Komui, Lenalee wouldn't get married without you."

Komui sniffed, rubbing at his glasses. "You're right, aren't you" the scientist looked over. "But why are you here?"

Something in Kanda snapped.

"Why are we here? you're the one who called us you bastard." He wasn't in the mood for Komui's antics; he was losing good sleep because of this fool. He even sent the rabbit to his room instead of using his brain and contacting him through Briar.

"Oh right, you're here for your mission, aren't you?" _Yes, now hurry up and tell us what it is._

Komui dug through his desk, fishing out a single folder. "This mission doesn't have much to do with Akuma, I'm afraid. There's been a string of disappearance from a Vatican owned church in Wales. Central Command has ordered you to investigate."

"A church? Wouldn't Finder's be better suited for this." Lavi asked. A Finders' primary task was to gather information for the order on supernatural events, so Exorcists could be sent out to resolve the problem later. They were never sent out before the presence of Innocence had been confirmed. As a Bookman visiting an official Vatican church would be exciting. Personally? He didn't feel like now was the time to go.

"If it's a reconnaissance mission, it's better if I go by myself." He refused to get himself stuck with Lavi. His sanity wouldn't be able to handle it.

"Come on, Yuu-chan, where's the love? It's been so long!"

 _I'll show you, love._ His fingers slid against Mugen's hilt in a silent threat.

"Now, don't be so cold, Kanda, Lenalee worries about you you know, something about spending too much time by yourself?" _Lenalee_. So she was the reason he had to go on this mission, Lavi. Trust Komui to take any words spoken by his sister as gospel. How many times had he been forced on group missions because of her concern?

"I refuse to be left alone with that pervert." The creep had entered his room in the middle of the night and played with his hair….How had Lavi entered in the first place? He locked his bedroom door religiously.

"Yuu, I'm telling you it wasn't like that—- Let's work together!" He could almost see the lopsided bunny ears drooping on top of his head.

"Don't be stupid," Kanda snarled. "I could complete this mission faster without you." He was about to unleash his netherworld insects when he was interrupted by Komui clearing his throat.

"Gentleman, if you could save the death threats for the Akuma," Komui sipped his coffee staring at them from his spot in the office chair. "There, expecting you in thirty hours, I'd hurry up and leave if I were you."

Thirty hours? There wasn't time to do anything. If they got on a train now, they'd barely make it. Komui did this on purpose, didn't he? To remove Kanda's ability to get out of it.

"Hey, wait a minute, what about Allen's Ark that could get us there in no time." Lavi pointed out.

Kanda snorted inwardly going to a shrine or temple of any kind isn't his idea of a good time. The Apostle's creed being forced down his throat as a child had squashed all feelings of religious devotion. Using the Ark was the last thing he wanted to do. Hell, he didn't even want to go on this mission. It was best if he stayed away from churches.

Komui looked at them with pity. "I'd let you take the Ark, but the battle against the Noah left it unstable; it's too risky."

Lavi pouted, disappointed that he wouldn't be able to take the easy way out.

Kanda is relieved he really didn't feel like entering that religious death trap. Turning on his heel, he snatched the mission files from Komui's hand and headed out the door. He needed to start packing.

X~X~X~X~X

The London underground stank with the dreary city's filth despite the early hour. The train station was bustling, and beggars were huddling together in miserable heaps. The platforms were crowded with people on their morning commute. Lavi was impressed they arrived in time. He glanced over at Yuu, the other exorcist had been entirely silent during their mad dash to leave the order. Yuu didn't even look winded from their sprint.

When he entered the train, the air was frigid; he could see his breath in flakey whisps. They are taking a cargo train. The order hadn't been able to find anything else that would get them to Wales on time. He slipped into a seat next to a frosted window. Window seats are his favorite; they entertain his active mind. Yuu had opted for a seat several rows away. Lavi isn't hurt; the anti-social teen never sat close enough to be associated with other order members.

A few minutes later, a modestly dressed car cabby offered tea, clipped their train tickets, and collected the stubs. He places his steaming tea on the sticky table. Lavi is barely awake; he hadn't slept when he returned for his mission, and the sleep debt was catching up with him.

_This is going to be a long trip._

Without Allen, he had to maintain constant vigilance the moment he stepped out of the order. The effort it took to analyze every human for Akuma corruption was mentally exhausting. Having Allen around had gotten him used to precognitive power giving him a leg up against the Akuma. He scolded himself silently; he needed to nip this dependency in the bud. Depending on, Allen has become an embarrassing crutch.

Suddenly, the train started with a series of jerks and bounces that shook him in his seat, the steam engine picked up speed, rattling forward as the outside foliage blurred into blobs of color.

Deciding to get to work, he reached into his bag and scanned the mission report. Nun apprentices are disappearing from the Catholic Church of St. Monica. They vanished in the middle of mass without a trace. The victims ranged in age from five to fourteen years old, all blonde and blue-eyed. Acquaintances described them as devoutly religious. The real mystery was how these girls had been taken under the nose of the Vatican. Vatican officials guarded their churches religiously so they could train up loyal supporters of the holy war.

Before he'd become an exorcist, he'd gone to such a church with Bookman. Chronicling the history of the catholic faith in Britain. It had been a very dull case study. There were more exciting mysteries to study than the history of society's obvious leaders; there had been no secret history involved.

Hours passed, and the train horn bleated, alerting Lavi that they'd be arriving soon. He stretched out the muscles that had gone numb during the long train ride. His single green eye floated around, landing on Yuu. He'd fallen asleep again. What should he do?

Yuu's golem was perched on top of samurai's head, much like Timcanpy did with Allen. Weird. From what knew, Yuu's golem is supposed to be a standard edition without much personality. It shouldn't be able to develop this level of attachment to Yuu.

The black sphere is looking at him like he's some form of trash. Lavi's never seen anything with a single eye express such contempt. The golem was a brat. Spending time with Yuu must have warped its personality.

Still, the golem's weirdness wasn't the problem here. They'd be arriving at their destination soon, and he wasn't eager to risk his life a mere twenty hours after his last attempt. People thought he had no sense of self-preservation, but he wasn't completely hopeless.

It bewildered him that Yuu could still fall asleep around him after what happened. It is slightly concerning. Yuu never slept this much in front of people. When they'd gone to retrieve the leaf of revival with Allen, the swordsman had simply gotten distracted during meditation. Now though, Yuu seems really exhausted. Was something wrong with him?

The golem's tail flicked in Yuu's face, and there was a low rumbling showing that the teen was less than thrilled about being disturbed. The exorcist turned, trying to get away from the flicking tail, but the flicking persisted. Eventually, dark eyes opened up alert.

_Thank God almighty, I get to live another day._

"Good morning, Yuu-chan, lets' go, we're burning daylight!"

"Don't call me that damn rabbit."

X~X~X~X~X

When they arrived at the church of St. Monica, they walked in mid-service. A tall willowy woman stood in the middle of the pulpit. “The world is a dangerous place, my dears, from today forward, it is my hope that you press on with open minds and modest spirits. That you embrace your calling as the sisters and brothers of salvation and spread light and comfort to those, who come here seeking refuge from this wicked world!”

 _Well, isn’t that idealistic._ This wasn’t Lavi’s first time witnessing the cultish pack mentality that plagued religious circles. He’d seen it many times with Bookman as well as the religious wars these types of crusades sparked. Yuu, on the other hand….

Lavi glanced over at the other exorcist; Yuu looked like he would throw up if he had to listen to any more of this religious drivel.

Since the service didn’t seem to be ending anytime soon, he decided to survey the area. The prayer hall was small, and there are few adults. The room was packed full with children; those with black hair were shoved to the back while those with brightly colored blonde hair were sitting in fancy chairs at the front. There was some kind of hierarchy among the children, and from the looks of it, it is severe.

From what he could see through their church gowns, the dark-haired children were all in various stages of starvation while the ones with golden hair were healthy.

 _What the hell is going on here?_ I’m supposed to be investigating the disappearances, but I feel like I should be reporting signs of child abuse.

Eventually, the nun stopped her preaching and the blonde children stood from their chairs singing a hymn. The children who weren’t participating looked like they were about to burst into tears from the disappointment.

When the song ended, Lavi and Kanda walked past the hordes of children and met the nun in the pulpit. The woman smiled at them but looked confused until she noticed the emblems on their trench coats.

A beaming smile broke out on her face. "Oh, you must be Exorcists from headquarters, champions of the holy war are always welcome here!"

An irritated twitch broke out on Yuu's face, "We're not here for salvation."

"Oh. Then what brings you here?" the woman asked, genuinely interested.

Lavi gaped, was this woman dense? "Were here about the abductions."

The woman blinked. "Oh, yes. Of course, it is simply _horrible._ The children are terrified!" wiping a tear from her eyes, she continued talking. "That being said, I don't know why people of your standing would come because of this little problem."

_Little problem?_

Apparently noticing the confused looks on their faces, the woman explained, "Children leave here all the time. Some can't handle the struggles of church life, you see."

"The Vatican just wants to check. Ensure that its followers are ok, ya'know?" Lavi put on his most charming smile, "Where's the detective around here?" He needed to get some useful information out of this woman to do this job.

"The detectives are out of town, but he'll be back in three days. You're welcome to stay here until they come back."

 _Three days and she just accepts it?_ Did the people at this church have so little concern for the children under their care? He was about to question the lady some more when he felt tugging on his coat. Looking down, he saw a child looking up at him, holding out a bottle.

The child placed it in his hands before bowing and running out after the other children.

"Don't you like how respectful children are? Hilda dear, stay here and show the exorcists around." A child who'd been about to follow the others out turned back.

Hilda was a young girl around thirteen years in age. She had sky blue eyes, and her long platinum blonde hair stopped at the end of her back. The girl took the ends of her dress and bowed to them in courtesy.

“Hello.”

Lavi glanced over at Yuu to see if he was alright. The man had trouble dealing with small children. His face taking on a constipated look whenever they talked to him.

X~X~X~X~X

Kanda thought he was going to throw up. The moment he had stepped into the church, he had been filled with feelings of revulsion. He hadn't been forced to listen to such brainwashing talk since his time at the research lab. He wasn't intellectual or spiritual. Alma had always been more interested in that. Dragging him along to mass whenever those fools from the Vatican came bringing false hope.

The girl the nun had called over was stunningly beautiful, and he feels himself tense up immediately. This girl had no knowledge to contribute towards his case. He's never talked to anyone who couldn't contribute to his mission. The thought of his first opportunity to speak to others being with a child made him uncomfortable.

Lavi looked just fine when he accepted the bottle of water from the boy earlier. How did he do it?

His body went on autopilot as Hilda led them outside of the prayer hall. Outside was overwhelming; he preferred cities and London's gloom that prevented him from seeing the unnerving vast blue sky. Here in Wales, the sky was so blue, free of looming buildings and blocking clouds.

Hilda skipped about pointing to statues of the church's saints.

"So, do you like it here?" Lavi asked breaking the silence.

"Is there any greater calling?" the girl cheered. "All of us are born with purpose. To help convey the word of god through his holy church."

"I've been here forever. The Vatican came to my parents and told them I was born with a holy purpose."

The words left a bitter taste in his mouth. This girl was a slave to her cause just as he had been. Knowing nothing else. He wondered what kind of terrible parents they had been to abandon their child in a place like this. It seemed no matter the religion, if the followers were devout enough, they would willingly sacrifice their children no problem.

Over the next few hours, they toured the expansive area of the church. The thing that struck him was the lack of adults and how most of the people present were children. Sure this place was a church, but it was no orphanage; there shouldn't be enough money to take care of this many children.

X~X~X~X~X

Kanda sat in the dining hall. Hilda had offered to take them to the evening service, but the two of them had declined claiming that they were tired from their journey. And he had been tired. Woken up and forced on a mission so soon after a therapy session? He’d felt like he would collapse when they first arrived. He’s feeling better now, though. Enough time has passed, and the fog caused by the spirit stone has finally dissipated.

His behavior on the train had probably appeared strange to Lavi, but he liked to think the redhead had enough fear of his blade not to ask. Lavi was stuffing his face with the food, but they didn’t have soba here, so he wasn’t interested in eating. He was perfectly content with watching Briar munch on table scraps.

When the golem had first done so at the Black Order, he'd been shocked it happened after Briar’s first fight with Moyashi’s golem. Timcanpy had stolen Allen’s sandwich and consumed it in one whole bite. Timcanpy's actions had surprised him, and he’d noticed Briar looked on with interest. That should have been his first warning. Later that night, he’d woken up to find the little creature munching on his soba noodles they hadn’t even been cooked.

Ever since then, he fed Briar in the privacy of his rooms. He didn’t want the Science Division becoming interested in his golem. They’d pester him about studying the birth of another sophisticated golem.

A smirk crossed his lips at the thought his golem was far more sophisticated than Timcanpy; he enjoyed eating soba noodles.

Since Kanda wasn't hungry, he was here for one purpose to meet a Finder. Lavi had suggested they call one stationed in Wales to get more intel on the church for their investigation. He's skeptical the Finder could provide information that wasn't in the mission report, but it gave him something to do.

He watched as another batch of children walked into the hall. The sheer amount of them with pure black hair was impressive at the order there aren't many people with hair as dark as his. Here though, there are a couple who came close.

But there is something weird going on. The children seemed to be grouping themselves together by hair color. During the service, he thought it had been a coincidence. But now that the children are playing amongst themselves keeping the same groups, he felt it was a little strange.

"Brownlow over here!" he jumped when Lavi's voice yelled out. The teen is always too loud.

"Master Lavi!" the finder shouted. "It's been too long, how's the order?" Figures the Finder was chummy with Lavi; he never tried to distance himself from the cannon fodder. Ridiculous. Brownlow took off his tan coat and sat the bulky telephone down on the chair next to Lavi. The man was sweating; he'd obviously ran the whole way here.

Fortunately, the two didn't waste time catching up and dove right into their work.

"What do you know about this church?" Lavi questioned.

Brownlow groaned, pulling out a stack of papers. "The catholic church of St. Monica has always been a refuge for children, but lately rumors have been spreading about them worshiping some pagan god."

"What's more for the last twenty years, it's been rumored that the officials of this church have a strange obsession blonde-haired children neglecting those without it." Brownlow looked down as a sick feeling overcame him. "I've seen some of the dark-haired children sifting through trash cans."

He felt rage build up in him. This is the best the Black Order could offer its children? It's pathetic. Whenever exorcists got tired of the death and destruction they caused during their jobs. They were assured that their efforts were improving the lives of less fortunate children. This couldn't be true if children from their own churches were forced to live like street rats.

Lavi looked unmoved as if he'd expected it the entire time. The apathy angered Kanda a little bit. This was Lavi, the emotional one. He was supposed to be the order's bleeding heart that helped the sick and cried along with crying children. This un-Lavi like behavior worried him a little. Where is the redhead mind right now?

"What about the disappearances?"

"I'm afraid I don't know the church is tight-lipped about them. They've only started recently, though there is a child who's rumored to have been killed ten years ago."

"Killed?" Brownlow nodded, letting out a sad sigh. "Apparently, there had been a failed exorcism, and the child had gone into shock and died." Kanda's teeth began to grind. _Exorcism._ Why did religious fools always try to fix children this way? It was inhumane. He knew from experience being tied down and sprayed with holy water was mentally exhausting. If the priest still believed the devil was in you, they'd continued to do it as many times as it took. It's no wonder the child died a young heart couldn't handle that kind of stress.

"Tell me did the child have dark hair." Lavi slammed his water cup on the table. Forcing himself in the Finders face in a blind panic.

"Yes, how did you——" There was an earth-shattering scream followed by a deafening thud. Kanda gripped the hilt of Mugen standing up quickly.

Lavi followed suit, increasing the size of his hammer.

Kanda hurried down the corridor. The frantic cries rang clearer the faster he ran. As he passed, the evening service hall children were streaming out like moths to a flame. They wore haunted looks on their faces as they chanted, _"Bless us with protection."_ Whatever happened in this room must be bad.

When he entered the room, hymn books were strewn out across the floor, and a candle stand had been knocked over. The priest was ushering children out of the room, and a single girl was on her knees, sobbing her eyes out. "What the hell happened?" Kanda barked, rushing up to the man.

The priest clutched an arm to his chest, voice breaking. "I don't even remember one moment I'm preaching a sermon the next—" the man gestures to the girl on the floor. "She's screaming, and one of our apostle Hilda is gone." Hilda? The same girl who moments ago had been running around, giving them a tour, he could feel his fist shake violently as he gritted his teeth. How had she disappeared so quickly? They had been down the hall fifteen feet away.

He stared at the priest with great suspicion. There's no way he couldn't have seen the intruder from the front of the room. For Hilda to be taken so quickly with no resistance, it had to be an inside job. There wasn't much at the crime scene; most of the destruction had been caused by the blind panic. There were no bullets, no blood, no poison— Akuma hadn't been involved. He hated to admit it, but he was hopeless at solving cases when Akuma aren't involved.

"What happened?" Kanda repeated. The priest doesn't answer, he's about to put his blade against his neck when the door opens, and a man in a detective's coat walks in. The priest looks relieved as he pushes past him and heads towards the door. "Detective, good, you're here."

The previously hesitant man begins to prattle on about all he knows. Kanda sighs. Figures the fool would start talking once a detective turns up. He glances at the girl who had been left shaking on the ground.

"You all right?" He reaches to grab the girl's shoulder and help her up when an alarm sound comes up from behind him.

"What do you think you're doing? She's a material witness." The fat detective is holding his baton out in a poor attempt to be threatening as he glances at Kanda's blade.

"I'm just talking to her, she looked hurt." He wasn't going to justify his actions to this detective. It was suspicious how quickly the man arrived. The abduction occurred only forty minutes ago, and The Order was the only organization that has easy access to field cell phones.

"Sir," the bloated man rasped in a blunt, hard voice. "This crime scene is off-limits. So, if you can exit over there." he gestured to the door. "We can begin the real investigation. "He could feel his eye twitching. Who did this half baked investigator think he is?

There is an unreasonably long stretch of silence before he answers. "Whatever." the priest had been silent. Making no move to imply that Kanda was a necessary witness to the case or a private investigator the church had hired to deal with the disappearances.

He walks out into the hall with a scoff running into Lavi. When they'd first realized something was wrong, the bookman had sprinted out to the church gates to make sure the CROW mandated Akuma ward were still in place. The screaming had been so loud they assumed Akuma had somehow broken in.

"Yuu, what happened?"

"Don't call me that. It seems our detective friends aren't as MIA as we thought", Lavi's eye widened before narrowing and glazing over. Kanda noticed this happened a lot when Lavi was thinking especially hard about something. "There's something wrong with church Yuu."

_Tell me something I don't know isn't this expected when something's run by the Vatican._

When the commotion dies down, another priest approaches them and guides them to the shower hall. Honestly, he's relieved. His uniform was sweaty and sticking to his skin. Touring with their impassioned guide had left him irritable, and now all he wanted to do was bathe.

Lavi goes into the first room, and he moves to follow, but a hand is holding him back. "We have another shower for you." _Whatever, I don't care as long as I get clean._ They make a right then a left. He's led down so many corridors he doesn't think they'll ever reach their destination. They eventually stop standing in front of a yellow wooden door. The priest unlocks the door before turning back to Kanda.

"I'll be back with water."

He enters the room, and turns on the lights. They flicker on, but the room is dull. Only half the area is visible. The walls are cracked, and mildew is festering on the floors. He feels his nose wrinkle as dust waifs against his nose. The room is musky and clearly hadn’t been aired out for months. There’s another knock, and the priest is back carrying a basin.

“Thank you,” Kanda mumbled as the man sat the blackened basin down on the washroom floor. It was ceramic and clearly hadn’t been used in a while. The pungent smell made him fear what it had been used as before. His life has been less than fortunate, and he understood the struggle of having too many mouths to feed. Even still, he couldn’t help but compare the lackluster basin to the hot showers he saw during their earlier tour.

Thes stout priest raised an eyebrow arrogantly, saying, “There isn’t a problem, is there?” The priest acted like he hadn’t just brought a pissed stained pot for Kanda to throw water over himself with. Deciding to pick his battles and too mentally drained to care, he let the priest walk out without a second glance.

With his pride cast aside, he enteres the tub pulling the basin along with him. It feels like pins and needles when the frigid water makes contact with his skin. _Why even bring me inside to bathe? This is no different than showering in a deserted ally with rainwater._

The curtains were drawn as he reached a thin hand out groping for a washcloth. He glared when he pulled in an equally tattered and dirty rag. Kanda immediately flings it back _. This is ridiculous; I'm not at some shabby inn. I should have run that crummy priest through on my blade when I had the chance._

Having had enough of his 'shower,' he got out of the tub and air-dried. He refused to dry himself with such dirty towels. He wanted to become clean, not clean and smelly. When he finally finished the air-drying process and returned to where he left Lavi. The redhead was radiant running up to Yuu like a floppy bunny. "Yuu, that hot water was soo _good_ I don't think anywhere in the Black Order has water that nice!"

Son of a bitch.

X~X~X~X~X

"Yahhooo!!!" Lavi sprinted to the mattress, rubbing snow angels into the fabric "oh sweet rejuvenation." the redhead tugged off his boots and removed his signature scarf. "It's been a long day, ae Kanda?"

"Tsch. Maybe to somebody undisciplined like you." Lavi chuckled to himself. There was no way the Samurai was going to admit to anything that implied weakness. He watched as Yuu yanked his hair tie, letting out dark tresses, tossing Mugen in the corner before pulling down the covers and burrowing in.

 _Heh. Something must have really pissed Yuu off in the shower. He's usually really happy after visiting bathhouses and stuff the showers here are the next best thing!_ He didn't tease Kanda about it, though. He still had work to do.

X~X~X~X~X

Kanda walked briskly. They're on their way to visit the friend of the victim for information on Hilda's disappearance. Apparently, the girl he'd found shaking was named Sascha and has known Hilda for a long time. He'd been denied this information the night of the attack. Solving this case was like pulling teeth; the detectives who the nun claimed were out of town had barged in and told them they had no authority to investigate. It was like the people at St. Monica didn't want them to solve the case. Their desire to ignore the situation was a problem.

Contrary to what others believe, exorcists aren't an official military. They can't go around doing as they please. When they are brought in, they have to be accepted by the police to get information. It was the one reason Finders are useful. They get close to the police officers and officials before exorcists arrive, preventing them from running into any red tape like they are now.

He turned the corner and arrived at the office block where the detectives were carrying out the investigation.

The children are squeezed together on the bench. No one seemed to feel like talking. Next to the bench was the open door to the office. Kanda could easily hear the conversation between the detective and Sascha. The girl's voice is shrill with panic like she couldn't calm down enough to explain what had happened. The detective who had entered earlier looked like a warm, pleasant man with a large build but it was clear that he'd never questioned anyone before as he tried to walk her through what happened.

"I wanna go home, this place is scary." hiccuped one of the voices from the bench. "Stop wishing we ain't gotta home", spat another voice, legs thumping harshly against coarse wood. The whimpering from the children paused when the door office door slammed open. Sascha, who'd sounded tearful before, had anger burning in her eyes as she attempted to move past.

He placed a hand on her shoulder to prevent her from leaving when nails attempted a swipe at his face as she turned around. "Look I don't know what you want, but I've had enough, I didn't see anything."

In the face of his silence, Sascha growled again, "I don't have time for this, okay— I gotta see someone."

Kanda regretted stopping her; he wasn't good at dealing with overly emotional people. But, apparently, Lavi had recognized his social incompetence. The redhead was walking over from where he'd been leaning against the wall.

"You're friends with Hilda, right? I know it's hard, but we need to do this to find her. I'm _a lot_ smarter than that chubby detective, okay?" Lavi had an impish smile on his face, and his words must have offered some comfort because the girl gave him a slight smile.

"Alright."

"The guy we're looking for is an emasculated alpha male, and he's probably injected himself into the investigation. You know how people are always surprised when someone close to them commits a crime? Well, this time you won't be. This guy's probably always rubbed you the wrong way, and he knows a lot about this church, so he's been around recently."

How had Lavi gotten all that information? Everyone here refused to talk to them. The mission report and interview with the Finder had hardly been enough. He knew Bookman are supposed to be smart, but this was unbelievable. He tried to deny it, but the rabbit's intelligence had really impressed him this time.

"He might have talked to Hilda before." Lavi continued. Sascha was about to open her mouth when there was a loud shout followed by clambering outside.

The door creaked open as a little boy stuck his head in. He recognized the boy as the one who'd given Lavi the water bottle when they'd first arrived. Lavi crouched down to reach the boy's height. "Hey, there, sweet thing."

Kanda couldn't help but be surprised he didn't know Lavi could do anything but be annoyingly flirtatious towards women. He was seeing many different sides of the redhead today.

X~X~X~X~X

Lavi looked down on the little boy who’d interrupted their discussion. He seemed really nervous and kept glancing at Sascha. He didn’t think he was going to speak when suddenly he opened his mouth slightly.

“I shook his hand.” The boy mumbled.

 _He had seen something._ The girl Sascha got a scared looked on her face as her whole body went pale. It was the most concern he’d seen a blonde show for a dark-haired since they got here. Which means the Sascha knows the boy personally. Filing the information away for later, he resumed his questioning.

"When was that." He needed to get something out of the boy.

Blue eyes looked up at him, innocently as the child fiddled with his tiny fingers. "When we all say _peace be with you_ , I shook his hand."

The abductor had been there the entire service? He'd even shook hands with children before committing the act. Sick bastard. When Lavi got his hands on the creep…

The boy was about to break this case wide open; everyone in the room had their undivided attention on him for when he'd drop the next bombshell.

"Someone talked ta me in Hilda before service and said he would take her somewhere fun, but she said she didn't wan ta go."

Bingo. They had a perfect witness. "You did a good job telling us, what's your name?"

"Ollie." the boy said, shuffling his feet. Sascha, who'd been frozen motionless, ran forward, scooping the child up into her arms "he touched my baby?" The words were spoken like a mantra as she squeezed Ollie even tighter. "Someone touched you during the writ of peace, why didn't you tell me?"

"Cause you get into trouble when you talk to me."

Sascha just about burst into tears. "He was playing," there was grief in her voice, "he was making noise, and after communion, you're supposed to be quiet and pray—- I was mad."

Lavi was beginning to understand these two are siblings, and from the sounds of it, the rumored discrimination is true. These kidnappings have a clear motive now. Unfortunately, it meant the abducted kids weren't getting auctioned off like he hoped. They had most likely met a more sinister fate.

X~X~X~X~X

Two days had passed since Ollie had admitted to having seen the man. In a later interview, the boy had even given a description of who they were looking for. Only the progress stopped there he had vanished entirely as if he knew people were paying attention. Because of this, his past few days had been ridiculously mundane. For some reason, Ollie had taken to following Kanda around. As if being followed wasn’t enough. Lavi had encouraged the boy to call him Yuu-chan. The two had made a game out of seeing who could call out his given name in the most irritating fashion.

Sascha mentioned the reason Ollie had latched on to him was because he was a black-haired exorcist. Apparently, the people at this cult of a church had been preaching how those of the ‘lesser hair color’ could never become accommodators. If that hadn’t been some of the biggest crap he'd ever heard, he didn’t know what was. Still, that discrimination made Ollie even more impressive. It's admirable that a boy who had been so shy two nights ago is being so rambunctious. At the moment, Ollie was rolling in a meadow attempting to catch Briar.

If anyone felt like spying on him through Briar, they'd probably assume that he was goofing off. He couldn't imagine how many pictures the golem had taken of Ollie by now. It's slightly concerning how pet like Briar has become. Kanda never thought he'd adopt a cat.

_“Let go!”_

He opens his eyes at the scream. Until now, Kanda had kept his eyes closed while meditating on the grassy hill. Ollie was standing dangerously close to the edge of the riverbank where he'd been chasing Briar around. A chubby strawberry blonde boy about ten years in age had approached the black hair child and looked down at him with envious eyes. _There's never time to rest around here, is there?_

"That's a cool toy you got there," the bully noted, pushing himself further into Ollie's personal space. "Let me see." The bully grabs the golem's wings with his chubby hands. Briar twitches violently in the meaty grasp.

He'd gone too far. Though Kanda denied it, he has a bit of a protective streak towards his golem, and he can grudgingly admit that Ollie had grown on him the past few days. He strides over to the brat assaulting him with a frosty glare.

"What do you think you're doing." His voice is threatening, and his hand is discreetly lingering over Mugen's hilt. Ollie looks relieved as he runs to burrow himself in the swordsman's exorcist coat. The bully however, remains unimpressed as he continues to poke and prod at Briar, inspecting the mechanical marvel.

"Hey, Brat," Kanda repeats, slowly unsheathing his sword. He lets the blade drag across the ground in a show of intimidation. The sound must have frightened the bully because the strawberry blonde stares at the floor before he nervously peeps out, "What do you want, black-haired sinner?" he can feel his eye twitching. How can this brat be so discriminatory at such an early age?

Asserting Kanda's hair color must have filled the chubby child with confidence because the boy rose to his feet, snorting as he continues to mouth off at the exorcist. "You're not even a real exorcist, are you?" Kanda clenches a pale hand violently around his sword. This is testing his patience; ever since he arrived, no one has treated him with respect. So far, he had kept an admirable grip on his temper, but there was only so much he would willingly put up with. Being taunted by brat was too much.

Caring little for what others around might say, he stretches his hand out and violently wretches Briar from the bullies grasp. The golem lets out a mechanical screech of relief as it hides behind its master's ponytail. Pudgy hands grab on to his wrist. "I'm telling you to give it to me. Are you disobeying my order? I'll tell my daddy!" the brat starts to let out of a sniffling sound.

That didn't sound good. Was this brat the child of some important church officials? This could get really bad. From the way things have been going, the church wouldn't take his side and would report the situation to the Vatican. He would be court-martialed so fast.

He's about to speak up to somehow rectify the situation when the sky darkens, and a familiar shadow sweeps over the area. The long slender pole of Ozuchi Kozuchi is bending overhead Both Lavi and Sascha were clenching on to the metal before quickly descending towards the ground.

"Hey, Yuu, what's going on?"

"Che. nothing I couldn't handle myself."

"Wow, you're an exorcist!" the chubby body ran over to Lavi, "you have real superpowers; the she male over there just had a dumb sword." So the brat had no problem believing Lavi was an exorcist. The rabbit wasn't even wearing his exorcist coat at the moment. Kanda wasn’t sure how he should feel about this.

“Can I ride on it too?” At this point, the boy had lost interest in Briar and was staring at Lavi’s hammer with great interest. Of course, the fool agrees, and for the next twenty minutes, the undeserving brat soared through the skies. When Lavi finally rids himself of the little nuisance, he comes up to Kanda, sweating slightly.

" I think I've found it, Yuu." Kanda blinks in surprise. earlier today, the hammer wielder had snuck into the church's records with Sascha's help. How had the rabbit sifted through the information so quickly?

"Well, let's see it." Lavi reaches into his bag, pulling out various rolled-up documents. "I have some suspects, and they all have one thing in common. "the redhead points to a name highlighted under one of the orphan profiles. "Umbridge. Every suspect had the same head nun as their primary caretaker." The name instantly sounds familiar, and he assumes he's not the only one who recognizes it when as a gasp leaves Sascha's mouth.

"Umbridge is my brother's caretaker. She's never liked him." there's a bitter note in her voice.

Umbridge. He's certain she's was the head nun they encountered when they first arrived. She'd rubbed him wrong from the beginning. While she pretended to care for the children, Kanda couldn't help but feel the woman was hiding something sinister.

"I know where she is, I can take you there." Kanda could admire the resolve in her voice.

X~X~X~X~X

Sasha leads them behind one of the saints many statues before leaping off a railed ledge. They land in front of an abandoned shed that used to be a wine cellar. When they open the rusted door, the shack is bigger than it appears. The stairs lead down into a deeper, wider space. The room is pungent like someone had spent the whole night drinking only to throw up most of it.

There is a single candle lit. Umbridge sat in a corner knees drawn up, leaning against a barrel. Her hands are clasped as she mutters to herself. The woman who had seemed so luminescent and holy in the pulpit looked old and withered. But Kanda isn't known for his tact, so he pressed forward, only to be stopped by Lavi.

"let me handle this, Yuu."

The redhead looms over Umbridge. "I can smell from your breath; you weren't sipping any rum," Lavi leers, twirling his hammer. "And I know you weren't down here saying prayers or playing cards." The harsh words cut through the silence like razor blades. "You're hiding down here confessing your guilt instead of doing it out in the open."

Umbridge chuckles grimly, "I did what needed to be done. The boy was possessed by evil, always rebelling with that black hair of his." Umbridge glances at Ollie. "All those boys need stern discipline."

Sascha glares at the wicked woman before speaking up. "You're always like this obsessed with some elusive evil that's not there. I don't know what happened, but that's your guilt talking." Umbridge's eyes widened, and her voice caught in her throat. She couldn't believe one of her chosen children was turning against here like this.

"How could you say such filth I raised you better than this that brother of yours——"

The floor begins to vibrate, and dust is falling from the roof of the unfinished wine cellar. Kanda hears a crunching sound as the cellar's stone floor begins to shift, before giving in with a whooshing sound as another blast of cold air is forced in the small room. Clawed arms lift the body out of the man-made hole revealing a level 2 Akuma.

Kanda vaguely hears the frightened screams of Umbridge and the children as he prepares himself for battle. But the level 2 doesn't slow down. It keeps sprinting forward. His eyes widen as the creature bypasses him, wrapping its metallic arms around Sascha's before quickly slamming its head against the ceiling, creating an escape for itself. The Akuma speeds out of sight before his Hell's insects can dig their fangs into its body.

He knows Sascha is out of reach before he even makes it out of the basement room. Ollie's screams and cries have gotten louder with the realization that some monster has stolen his sister. In that instant, he's fed up. This has gone on for too long. He walks towards the nun blade dragging against the floor. Umbridge had moved to a corner of the cellar to hide. He picks up the wicked woman by the collar of her tunic, "Start talking."

"What's happened to Sascha and Hilda is truly sad, but there's truly nothing we can do." Umbridge sounds like she's trying to convince herself that what she says is true. "There's a time when we all must go."

"There's no point in hiding it anymore," the redhead shouts angrily. "The order will find out an Akuma just burst out two miles from one of their churches. You know where the girls are, don't you." the tone of Lavi's voice lets them all know it's a statement, not a question. "Tell us so we can end this."

Kanda agrees. They had already reached the end of the line. No prayers or confessions, no apology could erase the wickedness that'd been going on in this church. The scared look in the nun's eyes showed she was aware of this fact.

X~X~X~X~X

They head out two hours later.

Apparently, there is an abandoned cave a couple of miles away that the church had once used for religious ceremonies. Ridiculous, religious ceremony was a flimsy cover for an unsanctioned exorcism. Brownlow had chosen to follow them; apparently, he had grown up in this church's orphanage and wanted to see for himself the evil they'd been up to. Kanda didn't know what the Finder's reasoning was; nothing would change if the Finder saw the horror they were about to uncover with his own eyes. They had also brought Ollie along; it seemed too risky to leave the boy behind after discovering the head nun's corruption.

The cave is immense, and he ignores the do not enter sign on the outside as the group infiltrates the cave. It gets darker the deeper they go into the cave. Ollie is hiding behind Brownlow for protection. The constant quiet drips of water make their trek all the more ominous. Kanda wrinkles his nose as he smells decomposing flesh. He has a good idea of what it belongs to.

"Finder cover the boy's eyes." Brownlow does so quickly. Seconds later, their stepping over the corpses of blonde headed little girls. They had found the missing children. There are at least thirteen prepubescent skulls. This had been going on a lot longer than anyone was willing to admit.

There's a faint crying sound as they pass the initial darkness, and they can hear a soft voice. "You understand, don't you, you deserve pain, why do only the black-haired get to suffer?" Sascha is bound and gagged on a stone altar. A tall, dark-haired man looms over her with a knife in hand. The aged figure resembles one of the boys they'd seen in the church records. Kanda hears a panicked gasp, and despite Lavi's protests, Brownlow is rushing forward.

 _"You bastard, let her go!"_ There's a slicing sound like someone took an axe to a tree, and Brownlow is bleeding out on the ground below the Altar. Looking up, Kanda can see a Level 2 hanging from the ceiling above.

"You exorcist just had to get in my way. Things were going fine until you showed up. "There's insanity in the man's eyes as he grips his hair. "I just have to punish these pure beings, don't you understand." The man is looking at Kanda like he should sympathize with and support his struggle.

He doesn't think anything's ever infuriated him this much. Now he understood why no Akuma had been detected at the crime scenes. To think a human would ally himself with the Earl and manufacture Akuma without becoming one himself. If the Vatican found out about this, the whole church would be shut down. The church officials had most likely suspected this and continued to allow the abductions to save their own skin. Their desire to cover up their cultish behavior had driven a man victimized by their abuse to ally himself with the Akuma. Human greed never failed to surprise him.

They are down a founder, and it appeared the Akuma here are more intelligent than usual. This situation was dangerous. He needed to separate the children from the Akuma.

"Everybody get the fuck down," Kanda yelled, running and making a sharp turn as he drew his blade. Thrusting Mugen beneath his feet, there's a moment of silence before the ground began to tremble as rocks exploded. The impact sent dust hurtling through the cave. He ignored the sting the particles caused in his eyes.

"Move it. This won't hold them back for long."

Lavi nods, picking up Ollie and rushing to hide behind the protective barrier of the fallen rocks.

Their criminal had been crushed by the attack. Sascha however, was still bound on the altar next to the level 2. He powers forward, willingly taking the Akuma's attacks as he slashes the girl free from her bondage. He covers her with his back clutching her close to his chest to protect her from the Akuma's lethal attacks. His body could recover her's could not. Turning his back to the Akuma had not been a wise decision. Suddenly, something slimy and wet pierces through his exorcist coat, stopping halfway through his chest before yanking itself out.

Ignoring the pain, he makes his way to the blockade he'd made with his earlier attack. Kanda grunts, falling to his knees. He felt his pants dampen from the blood pouring from his wound before collapsing completely into the ground covered in knee-deep water. He vaguely heard a shout of his name, followed by quick footsteps.

Kanda had been careless. Letting the poison hit his body had numbed it. He didn't think he'd ever been so thoroughly impaled since the day he successfully activated his innocence. He's lying on the ground, and can tell Lavi's is next to him from the smell of sweat.

"Man Yuu-Chan, I guess you're more of a ladies man than I thought." He could hear the grin in Lavi's voice. "Jumping in front of a girl like that? She's definitely in love with you now." the redhead wiggled his eyebrows.

"Enough with your pointless prattle." Kanda breathed out. "We have no choice but to retreat." Lavi helped Kanda to his feet and, to his surprise, didn't stop moving until Kanda's injured body was resting on the back of Lavi's exorcist coat.

“What do you think your—“

“You can’t move, Yuu.” He could feel a glimmer of the seriousness he sometimes thought existed under Lavi’s usually cheer. Deciding to swallow his shame, he wrapped his arms tighter around Lavi’s neck, cheeks red with embarrassment.

“Yuu just relax, ok? I’m gonna figure our way out of here.” reluctantly, Kanda allowed the numbness to take over. Sagging against the exorcist back, he gradually loses consciousness, thinking he’s been doing that much too often lately

X~X~X~X~X

When Lavi feels Kanda fall asleep, he makes his way back to the Finder’s dead body rummaging through the rubble; he ignores the stench coming from the dead Finder. The protective casing of the field phone backpack is obliterated, covered in dents and scratches, and a small amount of blood. Fortunately, the dial pad is still functioning, and he can spin the numbers. His anxiety grows as he clutches the black plastic of the phone. He needed to do this quickly before the Level 2 showed up again with more Akuma.

He didn't even know if the call will make it through with them so far underground, but he plays it cool. Ollie and Sascha are counting on him to figure out what to do next. They are disheveled from the running, and he can tell there at their limit both of them are already missing their shoes, and Sascha has lost her veil. To his relief, after a few moments, he begins to hear clicking, then the dial tone. He’d dialed the science division with a little luck Komui would be the one to pick up.

X~X~X~X~X

Allen slumped over the wooden table. He was sooo bored. He hadn't been on a mission since he brought back the Ark. The order is startinh to feel stuffy as increased personnel poured into the European Branch. He could tell with each additional man that was sent, he was being watched more closely. Even the Finder's he had been so chummy with looked at him with veiled suspicion. The lower ranks didn't know about the fourteenth, but they could tell he'd gotten in to trouble with the Vatican and distanced themselves accordingly.

A sudden crackling sound launches him out his lethargy, his eyes flicker over to a control panel at the edge of the counter across from him. The phone is off the receiver, and the red light is blinking violently. He hears a muffled voice come out.

"...Any… can …...e ….. ne'd…...Al.. th….rk….." He moves to grab the phone pressing the device to his ear. He instantly recognizes the exhausted panting of Lavi's breath, and concern for his friend fills him. He knew the redhead had been sent on a mission with Kanda a couple of weeks ago.

"Yes, Lavi, I can hear." Allen catches a relieved sigh before there's another intake of breath.

"It's complicated, but Kanda's hurt, and we need a gate." That shouldn't be possible. Their mission didn't involve any Akuma; the duo was only supposed to investigate some church and report back with their findings. How could they get hurt on such a generic mission? Thoughts of what could have gone wrong worried him, but he didn't have time to think about them now.

He know's he's being monitored at all times, and the last thing he should be doing is opening the Ark. It would likely add to the mistrust the order had in him. acknowledging this, he still found himself reviewing the lyrics of the fourteenth's song. Consequences can wait the lives of Lavi and BaKanda are at stake. Taking a large breath, he breathed out the words of the song.

X~X~X~X~X

Lavi had never been so relieved to end a call. It's better than he'd hoped for Allen had been the first person to pick up the phone and was willing to call the ARK. He wasn't stupid; he knew that Allen could get into serious trouble for using the Noah's power. 

He turns his head to his companions. "Listen up guys, yer gonna take a li'l trip with us, kay?" the sibling pair nodded their heads making him grin.

"Good, now you're gonna see a door here soon, and I want you to jump in." He knows it probably sounds crazy. But he hoped witnessing an Akuma for the first time shocked them enough to believe him.

The air goes still, and there's a whirring sound as the humid air in the cave dissipates. Tiny pebbles begin to float off the ground as a white dot appears before them, slowly expanding until it takes the shape of a fully formed door. The siblings stand up unconsciously backing away from the gateway.

"Don't be scared its gonna be al' right." He feels blood dripping into his one visible eye. Ollie and Sascha look at him with fearful eyes as he pushes them through the gate. Their little bodies are enveloped and disappear. He doesn't risk going in after them. He can hear screams from the church officials on the other side of the blockade. The Akuma are getting closer. Gateways always took time to disappear. If he went in now, the Akuma would follow, defeating the purpose of summoning it in the first place.

He hears the slight pants of Yuu's breath in his ear and wonders if he should have sent the raven-haired teen in after them. Lavi had chosen not to send Yuu with them initially. He doubted that the two of them would be able to drag Yuu through all the necessary gates to get back to the order. Now he couldn't help but worry about fighting while protecting Yuu.

He pulls his red scarf from his neck and begins tying it tightly around Yuu's back, connecting them like a mother carrying a newborn child. Just as he feels that the knot has become secure enough, there's a burst of wind and pebbles and grit are flying in his face. He hears claws dragging against rugged stone as the creature forces its way through.

Standing before him are multiple level 1 Akuma's and a single level 2. The level 2 Akuma has a festering scar across its mechanical face. It appeared like it had once had blonde hair only for it to be pulled out in patches leaving behind a few misplaced strands like a bad haircut. The body shape implied that it had once been female. There was no doubt that this Akuma was one of the missing children.

"Exorcist looks like I've found you." a grizzly tongue pokes out of its mouth. "The dark one has to die for its impure hair." The Level 1 Akuma comes rushing first. He bends back, avoiding the jagged edges of poisonous armor. Commanding his hammer to extend the pole pierces through the belly of one the Akuma as he passes under it. The mechanical beast explodes in a blast of burnt parts.

But he doesn't have time to rest. He shortens his hammer pulling it from Akuma's carcass. Lavi hates close quarter fighting the narrow canals of the cave prevent hiim from using his attacks. Using any of the seals would cause the area to collapse. The last of the level 1 Akuma are rushing at him. Bullets fly as he skids back, aiming his war hammer at the caves roof knocking down the overhead rocks, creating a barrier between him and the Akuma.

 _Wood stamp wind!_ He creates a light torrent of wind to blinding the Akuma before increasing his war hammers size and crushing the remaining level ones. The level 2 Akuma, who until now had been hanging in the back, is rushing forward it's tongue slashing apart rubble like a razor blade. Its mechanical eyes blind with fury. The Akuma slashes the ground with its clawed hands causing Lavi to lose his balance.

Recovering after a moment, he pivots on his left foot, running towards the level 2 Akuma. The pole of his war hammer clashes with the Akuma's hand kicking up sparks. He's wary of the drops of poisonous blood the Akuma is letting off. Attempting a barehanded punch, he jerks his head out of the way as the razor-sharp tongue surges forward.

There's a hiss, and he feels his eyes widen in horror as the tongue makes contact with the open gateway. The white portal is shrinking. The Akuma appears to be suffering from making contact with the gate. Lavi wasted no time in making use of the distraction. In one fell swoop, he impounds the Akuma head with the brunt of his hammer's force.

He's panting on the ground, and he can feel the scarf he used to attach Yuu's body to his loosening. He shoves his hands under the other exorcist's knees for extra support.The gate is still shrinking, but the level 2 is so destroyed that there's no way it's getting up anytime soon. Satisfied that he's immobilized the Akuma enough, Lavi plunges the hilt of his warm hammer into the cave floor, and wills it to extend. Mindful of Yuu's unconscious body, they pick up speed as they plunge into the entrance.

X~X~X~X~X

Allen knew the moment something entered the gate. It was like a signal had gotten pinged to his brain, and it encouraged him to sing louder. Trying to convey his will to the Ark through words alone. He's never felt so nervous about singing in his life.

He waits on the other side of the gate, a little nervous. This is the first time he's used the Ark to open a gate in a place he wasn't going to travel to. Relief fills him when two figures appear in the white smoke melting out of the white light before appearing in front of him. His blood freezes when he sees their appearances clearly. What happened?

The two people standing in front of him aren't Lavi and Kanda but a young girl and boy. _Are they the reason Lavi needed me to open the gate._ The boy is looks at him as he begins to wail. 

"Hey, don't worry it's gonna be okay—" Suddenly, the room is radiating with the bright color of electric blue lighting, and his vision is obscured by slips of paper. A groan leaves his mouth as he's forced to his knees. He hears the thunk of boots drawing closer, and the sound of the boys screaming is getting louder.

"I knew you'd bare your treacherous fangs eventually." Lvellie is standing tall with a smug flag as he's flanked by tall figures in red cloaks whose faces are covered by masks. "You've been caught red-handed attempting to lead Akuma to the Black Order."

"What are you talking about?" Allen attempts to pry himself off the ground, but the harder he struggles, the more he feels an invisible pressure pressing him down into the floor. _He couldn't possibly be talking about the children, could he?_ But the way Lvellie peers at the children proves that's exactly the case. In a panicked attempt to protect the children that had come through the gate, he begins to protest.

"There, not Akuma. The power of my eye didn't activate." Lvellie looks unimpressed. "That ability isn't a part of your exorcist powers, right? For a Noah like you, it would be easy to activate such a skill as you see fit." Allen can feel his heart thumping in his ears. There was no way to prove that he couldn't. It's Lvellie's word against his. 

"Now close the gate." It's the opposite of what he wants to do, but the force on his body is crushing his windpipe, and it's impossible to utter a phrase of the fourteenth's song without running out of breath. Singing was impossible, he needed to convince Lvellie with his words.

"No, I can't. Lavi and Kanda are still inside. They need me to bring them back."

"Unnecessary Bookman jr and Kanda are on mission; there's no need for them to be brought back in such a way when there are perfectly functioning trains." _What is this man saying? Clearly, they'd called for help because they needed to get out of wherever they were_ immediately _._ However, it seemed the choice wouldn't be up to him. He could feel his brain going hazy from the seals. At this rate, he might be forced into closing the gateway.

But the children must have recognized Lavi's name because the little boy is running up and grabbing Lvellie by his suit pants. "Mr. You have to help Yuu and Lavi, their nice to Ollie." Allen can feel his heart clench. The boy, now revealed to be Ollie, looks deeply distressed as he shakes against Lvellie.

"Back off." A hand is smacking against Ollie's head, and there's an angered shout from the girl.

"Don't touch him!" The girl is running towards Lvellie with a stone clutched tightly in her fist. But the CROWs are in front of her and grabbing her by the arms. There's another electric blue flash as the pressure on his body increases, forcing his eyes closed. The last thing Allen sees is pale seals, followed by the smell of burning flesh.

_Sorry, Lavi looks like you'll have to get home without me._

X~X~X~X~X

As the white light of the Ark's gate carries him, he feels like he's being dismantled and remade, but he can still feel the pressure of Yuu's unconscious body against his back. Seconds go by, and he opens his eyes again. There in a white-washed music room, the only thing present is a pristine marble piano and bench. He assumes this is the piano that Allen used to save their lives during the battle for the Ark. He places Yuu's body on the bench, and it slumps over into the piano keys. He's probably disrespecting some godly treasure, but he can't bring himself to care.

The longer he waits in the room, the more concerned he gets. Ollie and Sascha aren't here, so they must have arrived at the European branch headquarters, but he doesn't hear the 14th's song. When the 14th song is played, it echoes all over the city, it's impossible not to hear it.

Another thirty minutes pass, and Yuu's blood begins to pool on the piano keys, and suddenly the black-haired exorcist's head is banging against the piano. The action causes a strangled sound to come out of the piano. Followed by a muffled singing voice. The room begins to disintegrate, and Lavi can't help but think this isn't their usual transportation song.

X~X~X~X~X

No one is more aware of discrimination than the ones being discriminated against.

Tutsuya Shiba

X~X~X~X~X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Holy crap this is the longest single chapter I've ever written. I was aiming for 10k but its almost 15k. I hope you like it 
> 
> P.S if you think some area's don't flow well or your not sure who's speaking please let me know.


	3. Chapter 2

X~X~X~X~X

Do your duty as you see it, damn the consequences.

George S. Patton Jr.

X~X~X~X~X

_This is slightly uncomfortable._ Looking at the bindings on his wrists, Byakuya was forced to face the reality of what he had done. He had failed to uphold the law and betrayed the Soul Society once again. After Sousuke Aizen’s betrayal, the people’s trust in captain’s shattered, three of them had deserted. At that time, Byakuya had made a vow to bring himself closer to his men—— then Kuchiki Koga happened. 

Who would have thought that mere months later, he would be the next Sousuke Aizen? It was funny. He alone had been the one to damage his pride. When his connection with Senbonzakura shattered, he knew instantly who was behind it. 

However, Kuchiki Koga was supposed to be long dead, and now that he had returned, his motives were anyone’s guess. With his limited information, he had determined that it was in the Soul Society’s best interest to infiltrate Muramasa’s faction right away. Regardless, he had broken the law. 

During his betrayal, it had been unnerving to be around the otherZanpakuto; he acknowledged that he didn’t know his fellow soul reapers very well, but he knew enough to realize that the spirits had been acting out of character. Muramasa seemed to have thoroughly killed their personality. It didn’t seem that way when the Zanpakuto had vigorously and passionately attacked their masters. However, when they were alone with Kouga, the Zanpakuto acted like blank states. Byakuya theorized that the physical clashing of two parts on the same soul was a sensual experience that forced outburst of emotion from the captive personalities of the Zanpakuto. 

Looking up at the bare ceiling of the cell, Byakuya’s mind wandered. 

_How long had he been here?_

Though it was hard to determine how much time had passed in the dank cell, the steady march of time made it hard to ignore his aching body. The battle had been exhausting; his spirit centers were still aching from the aftermath. The feeling had only been amplified when they sealed his spirit energy escorting him to a cell without a visit to the fourth division. Which was fine; he was a traitor now. Traitors didn’t deserve medical attention. Still, the room was dreadfully dull. Even if he had chosen to pass the time by conversing with Senbonzakura, the spirit seal prevented him from communicating. 

He tried to ignore how sweaty his body felt by counting the tiles on the ceiling. He was still in his shredded uniform. Thankfully no one of consequence was here to see his disgraceful state. The embarrassment would have been too great. Thinking of how he would be standing like this before his fellow captain's when the time came was also unpleasant. 

He wondered how they would view him? He didn’t regret what he had done. He had acted in a way that he could do both his duty to Court Guard Squads and his clan to the best of his abilities.Only time would tell how others perceived his actions. 

X~X~X~X~X

Renji hadn’t seen his Taichou since he was carted away after the successful capture of Muramasa. It had been a week since then. Byakuya had been court-martialed and wasn’t allowed any visitors. To make things worse, members of his division are giving him the cold shoulder for covering for Byakuya. But he was his captain, what was he supposed to do? 

There had been many snide remarks from other divisions about how Byakuya was finally getting what he deserved for his prideful nature. The man who always seemed so perfect and unreachable had deserted his post in battle, attacking his fellow Soul Reapers. Though the other captains weren’t openly voicing any criticism, the masses' voices were difficult to ignore. 

He felt a bit of anxiety as he waited for Byakuya’s trial. It had been put off numerous times due to the chaotic state the Seireitei was in. Before any disciplinary action could be taken, the rogue Zanpaukto spirits had to be returned to their masters. The processes hadn’t been easy and left him dog tired. Most spirits didn’t go willingly and had to be subjugated before they returned to their masters. — He still remembered that rouge octopus type Zanpakuto. The tentacles hadn’t been pretty.— When they finally found the soul reaper who owned it, he confessed he had no idea the Zanpakuto had belonged to him as it looked different from how it usually appeared in his inner world. 

Zabimaru had been the same. The snake baboon hybrid that usually dwelled in his inner world had taken the form of an ape woman and snake child. The transformation had surprised him so much that he hadn’t been prepared when they suddenly turned against them. Though Zabimaru hadn’t been very hostile during their fight and had confessed it had been real-world training before adding more tattoos to his inked body. 

When he arrived in the captain’s meeting hall for Byakuya’s trial, his captain wasn’t present, but the air was thick with agitation. Everyone looked exhausted and in no mood to be present at a captain’s meeting.

_I'm not surprised. How long have we been collecting spirits?_

The only captains that seemed to project the level of professionalism they always did were Hitsugaya and Soi Fon, but those two were the biggest stiffs in the Gotei 13. 

“I’ll kill that Kuchiki.” Renji turned his head. Yumichika had bags under his eyes and didn’t appear to be upholding his usual standard of beauty as he nursed a coffee cup. “Yumi? What are you doing here?” The feathered man sighed. “I’ll be gone soon enough. I had the pleasure of making sure the captain and Yachiru arrived at the meeting hall on time.” 

_Oh._ That explained it. Everyone knew that those two could never make it anywhere on time. Not when Zaraki had no sense of direction and was led around by Yachiru, who was too confident in hers, it was the blind leading the blind. 

“ Well, get out of here and get some rest, Yumichika, you look like hell.” Yumichikia’s face went red with anger. 

“ Did you think I wanted to come here in this disgraceful state?” With that, the feminine man flash stepped away. Whoops. Looks like he really irritated Yumichika. He’d apologize with his favorite alcohol later. He let himself sit on the ground. When was his captain getting here? This whole ordeal is nerve-racking. All he wanted was to collapse into his bed; it had been too long.

_Toughen up, Renji!_

Ugh. Zabimaru. Now they could not only appear whenever they wished they had gotten more vocal, he never had time to himself. He jumped up when he felt a burst of spiritual pressure. His captain was here, and the sight filled him with shock. He had never seen the pristine man in this state. Byakuya looked dirty. Byakuya, who prided himself in being presentable at all times, there was probably no greater punishment the Head Captain could give his captain, than the shame he felt right now. He watched as Byakuya was led to the pulpit by Central 46 operatives. 

It’s begun. 

X~X~X~X~X

Byakuya heard the thunk of their boots before they arrived. Central 46 operatives flanked his cell on both sides in groups of three. “ The head captain will see you now.” Byakuya rose to his feet, with the grace only a noble possessed. His body tingled a little as he was pulled along by their Shunpo to the captain’s meeting hall. All the captains were here in various states of dress. The lieutenants were also present. Everyone involved looked exhausted. 

Chatter broke out the moment the captains became aware of his presence. “ Well, if it isn’t the ice princess?” Sigh. Kenpachi was unruly as ever. 

“ Doesn’t he look too prideful for someone on trial?” Captain Hitsugaya’s words were sharp. Clearly, he was furious about Byakuya’s crimes. Byakuya was led to the pulpit center, and he could feel the gazes of the soul reapers present boring holes into his skin. The hostility was to be expected. 

“ Well, I say that he gives up his body for punishment” Kurotsuchi’s gaze flickered down to the noble in question as he picked his nails. How vulgar. “ His little family squabble ruined my experiment” The man hissed like a snake as he continued. “ The only way to do beautiful research is to have the research subject in peak condition.” 

Byakuya didn’t feel guilty. It was clear he wanted to run experiments on a Soul Reaper whose spirit energy had been sealed off. Whatever he interrupted, it was probably better for the Soul Society that it never came to be. 

“Shut up, horn face!” Yachiru was hollering from Kenpachi’s shoulders, sucking on a lollipop. “ Byakushi doesn’t need to do something so dumb.” A happy grin stretched across her face. “ Byakushi should make it up to everyone by giving everyone lots of cake!”

There was a barking laugh from Kenpachi.“ Well, I don’t care, either way, I got a good fight out of it.” Kenpachi began to pick his ear. “ I don’t see the problem; no one was killed. Ice princesses stopped the problem before anyone could be.” How naive, he wished politics could be so clear cut he envied that the baboon could be capable of such low levels of thinking. 

“ Stop joking around what he did was a serious crime, no matter his intentions.” Soi Fon was clenching her fist in anger and looked exhausted. “ he’s a traitor now.”

The 2nd division had the ones assigned to tracking down both Muramasa and Byakuya. He wasn’t surprised that she was the most furious. If there was someone as dedicated to following the laws of the court guard squads as Byakuya, it would be Soi Fon. Head Captain Yamamoto had faith in her objectivity. Her resolve allowed her to punish anyone, even former comrades, without hesitation. Soi Fon had his admiration for that; her attitude made for a strong shinigami. 

He looked around discreetly. No one said anything for a moment, but he could tell everyone was taking her words seriously. If he was honest, he was most worried about Captain Hitsugaya. Hitsugaya is one of the few captains whose company he enjoyed occasionally, and it would most likely be hardest to regain his trust. Hitsugaya had arguably been the captain most affected by Sousuke Aizen’s betrayal. Lieutenant Hinamori had been severely harmed by Aizen’s manipulation. As a result, Hitsugaya had been treating his fellow captains with mistrust ever since. Byakuya’s actions have most certainly worsened that mistrust. 

There was a resounding thud as head captain Yamamoto brought down his cane with the force of a gavel. “Silence, we are here to announce the matter of Captain Kuchiki’s punishment. Your personal grudges will have to wait.” The room was silent as the captains and lieutenants rose.

Yamamoto’s old eyes bore into him. “ Kuchiki Byakuya, you’re here on grounds for insubordination and mutiny” Byakuya could feel himself nodding his head, but it felt like someone else was doing it for him. “While your desertion led to the swift capture of Muramasa, you broke the law.” 

Yamamoto stroked his beard, “I’d like to hear what your fellow captains have to say about your betrayal.”Though he tried to deny it, he felt slightly nervous about what would be said about him. It was best if he let the words spoken to him flow over like water. There was no denying his actions or trying to justify them. When it came down to it, he had broken the law and set a poor example for the soul reapers under his command. 

Captain Ukitake was the first to speak. 

“ I hate to say it,” Captain Ukitake said with his kind eyes, “ but you were selfish, Byakuya. Concern for your clan’s pride was above what was best for the Soul Society.” The words were cold, hard, and precise, without bias. Ukitake’s reaction was expected. His former captain is probably greatly disappointed in his actions. If the tightening he felt in his chest was guilt, he ignored it. Foolish, this was of his own doing. 

It might have been because of that feeling that he refused to make eye contact with his lieutenant. He had almost made Abarai and Rukia co-conspirators in his plan. Luckily, the confusion caused by the escaped Zanpakuto spirits had made it appear that they had been as unaware of the situation as the other soul reapers. He could only hope that Abarai and Rukia remained silent throughout the trial process and didn't implicate themselves. 

There was a scrawly cough, 'As I said earlier, if Captain Kuchiki could give his body over to science—" Kurotsuchi was cut off by multiple glares, no soul reaper is fond of his antics. There are far too many incidents involving the Shinigami Research and Development department. Yamato glanced around, waiting for another captain to make a suggestion, but no one moved to do so. Either they were too angry for words, or they could care less about the trial results. 

Yamamoto reached into his pocket, pulling out a slim blue scroll; it donned the first division's official insignia. Bringing the scroll to his face, he read out Byakuya's punishment. 

"For the next two months you are on probation, each division will give you half of their administrative work until otherwise stated." He could hear some captains chuckle in disbelief, and he was one of them. That was it? He expected a much stricter punishment; this was of little consequence a mere slap on the wrist. When the shock wore off, there was a unanimous murmur of agreement around the room. Most of the Soul Society captains were fighters; they disliked the tedious politics of paperwork and tended to pass it off to the lower ranks. Beside's Ukitake, Byakuya believed he was the only captain who delivered his files on time on a regular basis. 

With everyone in agreement about his punishment, Yamamoto moved on to talk about the fate of Kuchiki Koga. 

"It is clear that fugitive Kuchiki Koga no longer resides in the Soul Society with his blade under our control, there is little to fear from him. We will not be pursuing him; he'll come here on his own to retrieve his Zanpakuto given enough time."

With that statement, the captains and lieutenants made a break to leave the room only for the Head Captain to strike his staff down again, causing everyone's heads to turn. "Kuchiki's betrayal isn't the only reason I have called you here today." Byakuya couldn't help but feel curious, what matter could be so urgent that it couldn't be addressed at another time? 

"The Soul King has ordered for a Selection to take place." 

A selection? How many years has it been since that happened? Did everyone here even know what a selection was? Judging from the surprised gasps that came from around the room, most the captains did. Only a few captains and lieutenants were unfamiliar with the event. 

"Head Captain, what exactly is a selection?" Hitsugaya questioned speaking up for those who were clueless. 

Ukitake spoke up. "It's been a long time since one happened; you were probably too young to remember when the last happened." 

"The selection is competition, overseen by the Seimei noble family. The Semei clan is responsible for creating and distributing all food in the Soul Society. Food in the soul society is composed of Reishi high-level souls can not prepare it; they would merely add the Reishi within the food to their own spirit energy." It looked like the explanation was confusing a few lieutenants, but Ukitake continued with his explanation anyway. 

"Since high-level souls can't touch the food, lesser souls are scouted from Rukongai and given Geisha's position in order to distribute food throughout Soul Society." Byakuya could tell many of the lieutenants were shocked. Usually, no one gave much thought as to how food could be grown in the Soul Society when so few could eat it. 

Yamamoto thanked Ukitake for his explanation before continuing with his announcement. "Normally the Gotei 13 doesn't interfere with the affairs of nobles; however, the soul king has demanded increased integration of the military and noble clans of the Seireitei; The Zanpakuto rebellion is proof that the noble houses are being given too much leniency.” 

Byakuya could feel that guilt feeling creeping up again. 

“To foster camaraderie between Soul Reapers and nobles, each division will go out into the 320 districts and select candidates. The division which creates the most Geisha will be rewarded.” 

The meeting hall broke out in a flurry of shouts again, “ Old man, I won’t deal with some girly tea party.” Zaraki looked irritated as he fiddled with the blade of his sword. 

Girly tea party? Only an uncultured simpleton like Zaraki would compare an essential and honorable tradition to that. He would have voiced his annoyance if this wasn’t his trial. For now, he would have to deal with the insult. The captains spent time placing bets on who could create the most Geisha’s until the head captain forcibly removed them from the meeting hall. He was relieved the trial had finally been dismissed; his legs had started to cramp up from the rigid posture he had kept for the duration of the trial. 

He was getting ready to leave as well when he realized Hitsugaya still remained. The smaller soul reaper stood in front of him with a stony glare before speaking. “ I can’t speak for the other captains.” an Icy shill began to come off of Hitsugaya’s body, “ but I’m not satisfied, Head Captain was too forgiving. I’ll be watching you.” The reaper dropped his warning before flash stepping out of the room with cat-like grace. 

It was really over now, and it seemed mending his relationship with Hitsugaya would be more challenging than he thought. Hitsugaya’s anger stemmed from more than his betrayal. He was aware that the 10th division captain was known for being unconventionally close to his Zanpakuto. Hearing its voice before he was even given an Atsuchi. Perhaps that was why the mere idea of losing him had infuriated Hitsugaya so thoroughly. From what he gathered during the battle, not only had Hyorimaru attacked Hitsugaya, he had completely forgotten his own name as well as the name of his master. This must have been a great shock to Hitsugaya, who loved Hyorinmaru so deeply. He probably thought he had lost the spirit forever. 

But now wasn’t the time to think about others; he still had another judgment to attend. 

X~X~X~X~X

The cold autumn wind blew leaves around the tall white towers of the Seireitei; everything was strangely quiet. Like the gravity of the fighting had left everything too exhausted to move. Renji groaned, thrusting his arms backwards, his elbows cracked from the pull. That had been an incredibly long meeting. He felt great relief now that it was over. His mind had gone through various scenarios of what could happen to Byakuya but hell, this was great! Probation? That happened to him many times when he was in the Eleventh Division. 

Suddenly the air was sucked out around him before rushing out forward again leaving behind a pungent red steam. His back was hitting the floor.“ _Finally Renji”_ Snake and Monkey had appeared and were standing on his back. “ We thought you’d been in that meeting forever.”

“Shut up, what are you two doing out again?” He’s seen enough of the two of them this past week.

“Come on Renji, you tired of us already?”Monkey was wiping a fake tear from her eyes. 

“It’s so boring stuck in sword form” Snake added, bouncing on the balls of his feet. 

“ Look. I don’t have time for this, I need to check on Rukia in the Fourth.” Was his own personality this annoying? He looked at his Zabimaru with annoyances before remembering something that had been bothering him.

“Hey by the way why aren’t you guys a white baboon with a snake tail anymore?” Snake shrugged tail flicking “ It's your soul you tell me.” 

“Yeah Renji were only as warped as our Master.” Monkey accused as if their current appearance was by his own choice. Maybe Snake noticed the annoyed look on his face because he began to speak words of comfort. 

“Don’t worry Renji, I like this better, I'm my own man now.” there was a snort as Snake was abruptly pulled back by the chains on Monkey’s hips. “ Man? _Please_ you're nothing but a baby snake.”

“ Ow. _Moonkeeey!_ Be careful with that chain.” 

“It’s your own fault, Renji, hurry up and lead the way let’s visit Rukia”

_These fools were going to be the death of him._

X~X~X~X~X

Rukia woke up with a searing sensation and a roaring heat in her forehead, ignoring the pain as best she could, she sat up in the bed. It felt like she had gone five rounds with Renji and followed it up by going drinking with Lieutenant Matsumoto afterward. Her side still ached from the wound she received going against her brother. During the skirmish, she had been thrown back into a crate and skewered by wood and glass. Memories of the battle before came rushing back. She had been betrayed by Onii-sama again.

_Did he truly have so little trust in her?_

She liked to think her Onii-sama secretly cared about her in his own way. Especially after having bared his heart to her during her execution. When he had come to her with an apology filled with emotion, she was relieved and thought they might get a little closer.” Before the Ryoka incident, Rukia had carried a certain grudge against Byakuya for alienating her from Renji only to always act so cold towards her. With his attitude, it had been easy to accept her execution with the comfort that her brother didn’t feel any emotion towards her. He turned against her for a single reason; she had broken the law. His personal feelings had nothing to do with his actions. 

But then… 

Perhaps she was wrong. Six months later, Zanpakuto are running rampant, and suddenly Senbonzakura was attacking her. It unnerved her; Zanpaukto were supposed to express the emotional inner workings of a soul reaper; however, Senbonzakura was no different from Byakuya. His noble robes and mask made him appear cold and detached, just like his master. It was slightly alarming. Without hesitation, the spirit had attempted to cut her down, not displaying a flicker of emotion during the entire process. Rukia knew it wasn’t just Senbonzakura. All the Zanapukto were going around attacking their allies. But during that time, Senbonzakura had clearly been in control, fighting alongside Byakuya. 

In the end, she had found out about Koga Kuchiki, and honestly, she only felt more hurt. Byakuya could have chosen to attack anyone, but he had chosen Rukia. Why? Was it because they weren’t siblings by birth? Did that make her less of a sister? Finding out that Byakuya hadn’t actually betrayed the Soul Society just poured salt over the wound. He really could have chosen anyone. 

She knew her Onii-Sama had a duty to the clan, but sometimes she wondered if that was just an excuse, and in reality, he cared little for her, and she would never be above his duty to the clan. She wondered how important his duty was that he would carry it out even if it meant turning on his friends and comrades, even killing one's own family? When she thought about what Byakuya was capable of, she was kind of glad he kept his distance. She didn't want to become empty like that. 

Rukia sighed, picking up a glass of water from her bedside. Their relationship was awkward. He ignored her like a child who had gotten a pet fish and could do little more with it than sit and stare. Thinking about their dynamic and how Byakuya felt about her would only hurt her head. 

Deciding to think about it another time, Rukia looked out the window. It was bright and cloudy outside. She didn't know how long had passed since the battle with Muramasa, but the fourth division was eerily quiet. Usually, the building was brimming with meaningless racket machines beeping at different rates, booted feet clambering down the hallways, hospital rooms always smelling with disinfectant. 

Just when she thought she would lose her mind in the fourth division's senseless quiet, a loud voice called out to her. 

"Mrs. Rukia!" an excited Hanatro forced his way into the room, "You're awake!" The short reaper stopped by Rukia's bedside with a clipboard in hand. Rukia could feel herself smile as she looked at the spastic medic. He was always full of energy. 

"It's good to see you, too, tell me, what's going on?" Hanatro blinked before his eyes widened in understanding. "Oh—" he put down the clipboard on the bedside table. "I guess you wouldn't know, seeing as you've been asleep for about a week." Shock ran through Rukia's veins, a whole week? That explained why the division was so quiet. 

"Unbelievable; what's become of the Zanpaukto?"

"The divisions have been rounding them up so the 12th can study them." 

Hantaro looked a little nervous as his eyes flicked around the room. "I know there is something you want to say, go ahead." Hantaro was sheepish at getting caught but continued talking. "Well, I hate to rush you but—-"

There was a sudden burst of spiritual pressure that made her wounds flare a body blurred into the room wearing a Central 46 uniform. Rukia could feel her headache grow after Aizen killed the 46 members of Central 46's council; the remaining operatives had been extremely suspicious of her interrogating her more than four times. In the end, Byakuya had saved her with his knowledge of the law, pointing out how the double jeopardy clause of the Soul Societies constitution stated she couldn't be convicted for the same crime twice regardless of what had happened during the first attempt at trial. 

Since that day, they had never approached her again. What could they possibly want now? 

Hantaro begins to protest as the intelligence officer shuts down the medical staff's communications. Unmoved by his weak stutters, the officer peered at him over the files and papers in his hands. "Your dismissed officer." 

"No," Hantaro shuffles nervously towards the man. "I must insist that you leave Ms. Rukia is my patient—-" There's another burst of spiritual pressure, and Hantaro is brought to his knees. Biting her lip Rukia groaned. This could get ugly; she appreciated Hantaro's concern, but he shouldn't get involved needlessly. 

A smile quirked on her lips' edges as she waves him off, nodding towards the exit. "I'm fine. It will only take a second." Hantaro gives her another concerned glance before leaving the room and shutting the door with a soft click. Rukia breathed a sigh of relief as she sized up the officer. The man was older than her brother and had a noble air about him. _Had he been sent by one of the other noble clans?_

The officer spoke suddenly, breaking Rukia from her thoughts. "I don't want to be here as much as you do," the man said, running a hand through his hair, ignoring Rukia's glare. "You Kuchiki siblings, have been causing us too much trouble."

Byakuya? What could he have done to anger Central 46? 

She barely had time to take in the man's hostile attitude before the questions began. "Has Kuchiki-Sama ever expressed ill will towards the soul society to you?" Ill will? If anything, his intense loyalty was the problem. 

"Of course not! Onii-Sama is an honorable Shinigami!"

The man seemed unimpressed as he took out a pen and continued to write on his clipboard, scanning over her injuries. 

"I'm told the circumstances surrounding your adoption were less than ideal" What was this man trying to say? She assumed the officer had come here to take her statement and question her on her role in the Zanpakuto rebellion. Why was this man so interested in her brother? 

"has he ever raised a hand to you?" _what the hell?_ White-hot rage was at the tip of her tongue. The only thing that stopped her from lashing out was the training she had received from the Kuchiki Clan over the years. Yes, her brother was cold, but she'd never seen him attack anyone outside of his soul reaper duties. 

"I don't like what you're implying." 

"I heard he was quite harsh to you when you were imprisoned—-" 

"I'm not a child." Rukia scoffed, sitting up higher in the hospital bed. "I knew my crimes, and Onii-Sama only did what any Shinigami would do when dealing with someone convicted of a crime." What was this man's problem? No one had ever been so brazen when trying to attack Byakuya through her. Sure his recent actions were treacherous but to suspect him of abuse? If her brother ever found out... 

"Your positive Kuchiki Byakuya has never been in league with Sousuke Aizen?" 

Rukia was about to jump out of bed and show the Central 46 officer what abuse felt like when there were two sudden flares of spiritual pressure. Seconds later, the figures of Captain Unohana and Ichigo were standing in the door frame. 

Unohana peered at the man with closed eyes and a tight smile. "So you're the rat who turned off the medical communications," Unohana took another step forward. "I don't appreciate another tinkering with my hospital, surely you understand?" 

"Not only that, you're interrogating one of my patients." Unohana continued placing a hand on the man's shoulder 

"Unless you want to become a patient, I suggest you leave." The officer had been rendered motionless the moment Unonhana had entered the room and was currently trembling despite his best efforts. Every division knew to fear the medic, and few were foolish enough to bring politics into her hospital by conducting interrogations. Clearing his throat, the man clumsily got to his feet before flash stepping out of the room. 

"Sorry about that, Rukia, how are you feeling?" Just fine. But she didn't know about Ichigo, the orange-haired reaper was currently side-eyeing the head medic nervously while running his fingers through his hair. 

Ichigo walked forward, "Well, it looks like you're on the mend runt." There was a hand in her hair as Ichigo ruffled it, giving her a bright smile. For a brief moment, she saw Kaien again. Reminiscing for a moment, she enjoyed the hand in her hair before grabbing it tightly and throwing the body it belonged to over her shoulder. 

"Would you expect anything less?" 

Ichigo was cursing from a spot on the floor as Unohana looked on with mild surprise. It wasn't often she saw someone from the Kuchiki clan acting in such a way. 

Their glaring contest was broken up by sharp words, "I'm sure I don't need to remind you there's no ruff housing in my hospital." Both Ichigo and Rukia gave out their apologies before Rukia was led back to her bed. With deft hands, Unohana swiftly inserted an iv needle into her wrist. She went through various standard evaluations before giving Rukia a shot. As Unohana looked her over, Rukia's mind couldn't help but wander. The Central 46 interrogation had drained her, and it pained her to think that the Kuchiki elder council might summon her for a similar event when they learned she had awakened. 

From the few times Rukia had been before the Elder Council of the Kuchiki Clan, she never found herself desiring to repeat the experience. If she was generous, she could describe the environment as unpleasant. Otherwise, it was downright hostile. Going through an interrogation with them would undoubtedly leave her feeling no better than the dirt beneath their feet. 

She was broken from her distressing thoughts by the calm even voice of Unohana "You seem fine, but you must rest, you've been unconscious for the past week." with a final look at her vitals, The 4th division captain left the room cloak billowing behind her. 

"You all right?" Ichigo looked at the shorter soul reaper in concern, hoisting his blade higher on his shoulder. "You look like somethings bothering you." 

Was she really that easy to see through? Her poker face would never be as good as her brothers. Sinking lower into her bed, she looked Ichigo in the eyes. "I'm just worried Onii-Sama's punishment will be severe, and his squad might stop trusting him." It wasn't exactly what she was thinking, but it was one of her worries. 

"That would be annoying," Ichigo agreed before sighing. "But I don't think they will. Byakuya’s supposed to be nobility or something, right? And in the end, he was loyal." Ichigo used these words to reassure Rukia as well as himself. Despite his own anger and annoyance at Byakuya, he was still concerned about him. Rukia didn't say it, but he could tell she was still upset with him, and the other soul reapers would be just as furious after that mess with Aizen. 

Ichigo layed down on the bed next to Rukia, joining her on the soft covers. "You need to rest doctor's orders." At those words, Rukia's attention was brought towards the bag Ichigo had brought in with him. A familiar blue sketchbook was sticking out of the mouth of the rucksack. Mortified, Rukia stood quickly. He couldn't possibly have… Her fears came to pass when she opened the bag; it was her sketchbook. She could feel her cheeks turn red as she burned with a heated embarrassment. This could only be here if he had gone into her room. 

Sketchbook in hand, she rushed back to the lounging reaper. Ichigo smiled when he saw the object grasped in Rukia's thin fingers. "I thought you might be bored holed up in the hospital without anything to do, so I got it for you." She could tell by Ichigo's tone of voice that he thought he had done her a great favor. 

"Why would you do something like that?" Rukia could feel the red on her cheeks becoming more pronounced.

"You're oftly embarrassed for a midget who spent her days camping out in my closet." There was a loud thwack as Rukia's sketchbook collided with Ichigo's skull forcing him off the bed. "Shameless entering a girl's room!" 

"Hey, wait a second who said anything about—" 

"How could a zanpakuto like Zangetsu have a master who is so perverted?" "Ichigo growled, his bright orange hair seemed to amplify his anger. "Like me? See if I ever visit you again!" The argument would have continued if it wasn't cut off by the sudden approach of rapid footsteps. 

Through the shadow of the hospital room door, Rukia saw a group of figures that could only be Renji and his Zanpaukto. The door opened suddenly, Ichigo pulled away from Rukia, yanking his shirt back down. However, he had acted too slowly. 

"Well, Ichigo, it looks like you're doing just fine." Snake and Monkey were leaning against the doorframe with shit-eating grins on their faces. 

X~X~X~X~X

Renji watched as Ichigo's face turned an alarming shade of red. The orange-haired Soul Reaper looked like he was struggling for words as his mouth sputtered. A Protective instinct flared up inside him before dying down. Rukia could take care of herself. But still… 

He punched Ichigo in the face, the force of it left an indent on his left cheek that would bruise. "What's going on with you, Ichigo!" Though wrapped in bandages, Ichigo looked healthy, so he didn't feel bad about it. 

"You're asking me that? "Ichigo spat angrily, "what the hell is your problem?" Nothing, but messing with Ichigo was an excellent stress relief. He wouldn't tell him that though it would ruin the fun. "I left you here to take care of Rukia not to molest her." He could hear laughter in the background. Good, she was entertained. 

"Renji don't test——" Two sandaled feet hit the skull with a large thump as he was forced back into the abandoned bed. Light purple eyes shined with mirth as thin arms wrapped him in a hug. "It's good to see you, Renji." 

"Yeah, but I'm surprised you're still here. I thought you would have chased after the captain by now?" She shrugged helplessly. "You don't think I tried? The guards walked the perimeter every hour." she pulled out her sketchbook. "I've had no choice but to draw the Continued Adventures of Chappy the Bunny to pass the time." He tried not to laugh. It seemed she was still as obsessed with the cartoon character as she had been when they lived together in Rukongai. 

"What are you doing here anyway, Ichigo? Shouldn't you be mucking it up in the world of the living?" Usually, after Ichigo prevented the coming disaster, he went home quickly to the worried family he left behind. 

There was a crackling noise, and Ichigo rummaged through his pockets before pulling out a slim identification card. "You're looking at the newest student of the Shino Spiritual Arts Academy!" Renji felt himself slip, that was the last thing he had been expecting, and from the look on Rukia's face, this was news to her as well. 

"The hell, how'd a chump like you get into the academy?" Snake, who had been silent until now, was pointing animatedly at Ichigo as he jumped up and down from his perch on the dresser. 

"Ichigo, I must agree you're a buffoon. Without my tutelage, you'd be a hopeless Shinigami" Rukia's voice was watery as she whipped a nonexistent tear from her eye. 

The spiritual pressure in the room was becoming increasingly unstable as Ichigo's face turned red with fury. "The hell. I'm an excellent Soul Reaper, you'd be lost without me." Ichigo was attempting to calm himself down so he could rein in his spiritual pressure, but Renji could tell he was struggling a lot. 

"Old Man Yamamoto said my spiritual pressure was creating abnormalities in the world of the living, and I need to learn Kido, so he invited me to join." That explained it. It was unthinkable that Ichigo could get into the Academy without some sort of connection. If he started right now, it would be in the middle of the term. In addition, the Academy only accepted new students once every 50 years, and the last recruitment had been three years ago. 

So Ichigo would be around for the foreseeable future? Things would be interesting. 

X~X~X~X~X

Bubbles formed as puffs of steam rise breaking through the frigid air. Every manner of still noises and creatures surrounded the hot spring. Byakuya sighed as his body relaxed into the embrace of the heated water. Heavenly. He was denied the pleasure of bathing during his prison stay. Sinking deeper, he felt dirt and grime under his fingernails and watched in disgust as his filthy body tainted the clear pool of water. 

It is a little known fact, but there was a lovely hot spring in the Kuchiki clan's main manor's secluded backwoods. It is one of his favorite places in the Seireitei. As clan head, his father had been a busy man and had harped about the importance of cleanliness. He used to resent his father finding time to drag him to the hot springs while refusing to do other things with him. It was ironic, now, most of his fond memories of childhood involved his father spending time with him in the hot springs. 

Sometimes, Byakuya wondered if he and his father would have still gone to the hot springs together if he was still alive. Retrieving a plastic bottle he had perched on a nearby rock, he prepared himself to bathe. The bottle had been in his possession for months now. Renji had acquired some bathing products for him to try on one of his missions to the world of the living However, it had been months since he had time to visit the hot springs, and his servants took offense when he tried to use products other than the ones they provided for him. So this was his first time using them. The shampoo lathered as Byakuya pumped some into his hand; it appeared to have been dyed a dark pink color. Byakuya brought his hand to his hair while applying the shampoo. 

There were many knots in his hair from not brushing it in a week. It didn't help that he had kept the Kenseikan in his hair for so long. It would have been disgraceful for him to remove them while he was in the cell, even if it had made sleeping in the cell difficult. 

Byakuya enjoyed the heat the bath gave off. It would only be a matter of time before this peace ended. The Council hadn't summoned him yet. He had snuck into his own manner needing a moment's rest before another interrogation began.

In the silence of the water, he was prey to his thoughts. Till now, the anxiety and uncertainty regarding his trial had prevented him from thinking about what he had done to Rukia— He hoped his actions hadn't hurt her too deeply—- He wanted to visit her in the hospital, but it would be inappropriate he was the cause of the problem. It must have been painful Rukia hadn't known of his plans. Still, It was better that she hadn't gotten involved; he shouldn't give the clan a reason to punish Rukia.

Abari would hate him more than he already did if he allowed her to get hurt. It surprised him that Abari hadn't spoken out in anger during his trial. Rukia's life was truly precious to him, and he was always very protective of her. He needed to find a way to apologize to Abari. His lieutenant would face problems due to his behavior. Byakuya wasn't adept in gift giving, so he wondered what was appropriate. Rukia always rejected his presents.

Abarai appeared to be fascinated with contraptions from the world of the living. Perhaps something from there would provide adequate compensation? Though he was unsure of what to get, he didn't know what there could be of interest. He had never visited the world of the living for a pleasure trip, and captain class soul reapers rarely had cause to visit. 

He could ask one of his maids to go fetch something for him but doing so is an unfavorable choice for two reasons. First, the clan would be monitoring his actions closely for the foreseeable future; he didn't need them thinking he was concealing any secrets in the mortal realm. The second reason was it seemed… shallow to have a maid pick something. This gift is his apology to Abari for his failure; he couldn't have someone else procure the item for him. 

His only choice was to find a compelling item in the Soul Society. If his memory served him correctly, despite how questionable Abari’s personal dressing habits are, he seemed fond of fashion. He had seen the red-haired reaper and his friends loitering outside the popular fashion store Gin Tonbo on multiple occasions. The lot always seemed hesitant to step in and spend money in the luxurious boutique. 

His Former lieutenant Ginjiro Shirogane had opened the store after retiring from the division. For some reason, the older man had always been fond of him and continued to send him complimentary boxes of his latest sunglasses no matter how many times he returned them. Accessories like sunglasses are unnecessary in his duties as clan head, so there had never been an occasion to wear them. Abari seemed to enjoy sunglasses; he often came into the office after a mission. Sporting new glasses from the world of the living. However, the materials in the world of the living for making sunglasses must be inadequate. The glasses were brittle and were often destroyed from the spiritual pressure and the daily hustle and bustle of life in the Seireitei. 

Yes, the sunglasses would be an appropriate gift; he had no need for them. Now he just needed a servant to find out which storage area he had placed them in.

X~X~X~X~X

"Heeey!" Renji cheered, raising his bottle in a sloppy salute. The rest of the table did the same. Ikkaku cackled, "the worst of it is over" Renji and his friend had decided to go to a popular bar in Rukongai to celebrate the completion of the Zanpakuto recapture mission. This was the break he needed. Visiting Rukia in the hospital was nice, but there is no greater remedy than unwinding at his favorite bar with other dogs from Rukon. 

"It's disgusting", Yumichika moaned from around his arm. "I don't know how I dragged myself here. I feel so filthy." He looked it too though Renji wasn't stupid enough to comment on it, not after he'd seen Yumi almost lose it at the joint staff meeting earlier today. 

"Lots of water, sleep, and a good fucking” Ikkaku protested crude as ever "That's all you need after a long battle." He bet Ikkaku had made the battle longer than necessary knowing they guy he'd probably thrown his fists first, ignoring democracy altogether.

"Still," Shuuhei muttered, "I can't believe Ichigo will be joining the academy." The scarred man took another swig from his beer. "It's too bad he didn't join us to celebrate."

"How can someone with such a short temper be such a goodie two shoes?" Ikkaku agreed Ichigo's refusal to come drinking had been shocking to the Rukongai raised soul reapers. Out there, there was nothing like a drinking age. People drank like second nature and started stealing even earlier. 

"But Renji, can you believe this selection nonsense? It's ridiculous." Shuuhei took a swig from his sake cup, "If ya ask me, they need a worry bout finding new captains, not this shit." Shuuhei was currently working as both captain and lieutenant. He was having trouble controlling the ranks. 

The drunken soul reaper continued to go on. "I ain't never heard of it before, do you ever remember anithin' in Rukon happening like that before?" 

"No." Life in Rukon was hard. It was a dog eat dog world, a place where no one paid attention to the disappearance of other people. He might have heard about people getting a chance to live in the Seireitei through the competition before but being the kid he was, he was more worried about where his next meal was coming from. 

"This might be a chance to visit home, though, right? When's the last time you've gone back, Shuu?" The scarred reaper snorted, "gone back not much to go back to anyone I knew is probably long dead." Renji winced. That was most likely the case. But he had to think about the situation positively somehow. They'd be visiting painful memories soon. 

A formal announcement about the selection hadn't been made yet, so he expected Ikkaku and Yumichika to hound them for information, but the two of them were too blackout drunk to ask any questions about the event. Speaking of blackout drunk… 

"Where did that drunken mess Matsumoto go?" Shuuhei cracked his neck, "I dunno. I saw her crawl out with some guy earlier." That wasn't good. Matsumoto wasn't at her best when drunk; she always managed to get herself into worrisome situations. They needed to find her quick before they had Captain Hitsugaya on their asses. 

"Let's go find her." 

Standing up from the table, the two lieutenants were followed by the tipsy eleventh division members. The bar was connected to an underground club; they usually avoided the bustle of it, preferring to unwind with drinks in the secluded bar. As they entered the room, there was cracked radio blasting outdated music. The room smelled of piss and throw up loosely dressed men and women scuttled back and forth in some form of drunken dance. It was like a less sophisticated version of the clubs he had snuck into while in the world of the living. 

They looked around for ten minutes and he was beginning to lose hope and just when Renji was about to return to the Seireitei to organize a search party to look for Matsumoto, she drunkenly appeared dragging along a man with a prominent scar on his nose. He was hardly attractive, so the reason she had latched on to him was confusing. Matsumoto waddled over, looking at the group with a grin. "Guys! This is Yougetsu, a _real_ soul reaper."

_Oh._

So that's what going on. Messing with this chump would be fun. He glanced at his friends. The looks on their faces showed they had reached the same conclusion as him. 

"Really, what's it like there I've never been to the Seireitei before." Shuuhei was looking at the man with a face of false interest. Clearly, this swindler had never been to the Seireitei. His soul reaper cosplay looked nothing like the real thing. He wasn't even wearing a squad uniform.

"What department are you in?" Matsumoto purred, "it must be tough keeping all those secrets." the pudgy man looked at her with flushed cheeks as the arm slung around over her shoulder drifted closer to her cleavage. 

"It's a skill like anything else, not everyone can do it." the man's voice was irritating, renji had to stop himself from bashing the fuckers head in by asking another question. 

“That’s amazing I bet you kill Hollow’s all the time, you seem strong.” 

“ Do you have to carry your badge around everywhere you go? Can I see it?” Heh. He’d like to seek the guy weasel his way out of this one. It was apparent Renji’s questions had stumped Yougetsu as he began to sweat profusely, taking a step back.” 

“Tell me, Yougetsu, does it look anything like this?” Shuuhei pulled his badge out along with Yumichika, both reapers wearing matching grins. The man gulped before attempting a mad dash away. Matsumoto’s grip on the back of his kimono prevented him from getting very far. 

“Now, do you know what happens to people who impersonate soul reapers?” 

X~X~X~X~X 

"Business is down throughout the Seireitei! Peasants and nobles alike are distancing themselves from the Kuchiki Clan at the moment."

"My expansion proposal was shut down, months of effort. Wasted." 

Council meetings were battles of will, power-hungry cowards, and every manner of bad personalities. Unsavory characters flocked to them like it was a requirement for them to take place. 

Another woman spoke up her tone unreasonably cherry for the occasion. "Oh, but while you're here, Byakuya, you must consider meeting my sweet fourth daughter, she's…"

"You harlot! You're _always_ trying to get a leg up with Byakuya-Sama", A nobleman with coarse black hair shouted, stepping forward. "If he must marry someone from my side has a far better reputation!" The air was charged with competitive energy. 

"With an inferior father, it's no wonder none of your sons have gotten married, my daughters, on the other hand…" 

_Sigh_. He had avoided being summoned to the council through exemplary behavior, creating little reason for him to meet this particular group. Even during Rukia's execution, he hadn't been summoned since it was in the clan's interest to get rid of Rukia. However, now it seemed his avoidance had resulted in his family members turning into a lustful mob surrounding him like hungry vultures. 

The squabbling continued until the two Head Elder's walked in. Myouji and Gourou Kuchiki. They were two men who decided the rules and laws of the Kuchiki Clan. Byakuya felt his nose twitch in distaste when he saw a few of his cousin's trail in after the men. The first head, Myouji Kuchiki, is a man who is arguably the strictest in regards to the clan's laws. The man had given much trouble both with marrying Hisana and his adoption of Rukia. He still remembered the time he tried to kick out Rukia by spreading rumors in noble circles. Insinuating an incestuous relationship between him and Rukia. It was foolish they held no biological relation; fortunately, he had squashed the rumors before they reached Rukia's ears. 

Looking around the room, he noticed all eyes were on the head elders as they spoke. "Has your punishment given out." The question was straight to the point he supposed he liked that about the man. 

"I have been put on probation for the foreseeable future and will take on an increased workload." Myouji hummed, stroking his beard in interest. "And I'm to assume the Kuchiki Clan as a whole will be receiving no punishment?"

"You're correct." But he knew the result wouldn't be enough to satisfy them.

"Business is down throughout the Seireitei! Peasants and nobles alike are distancing themselves from the Kuchiki Clan at the moment."

"Kuchiki Byakuya," Gourou said, frowning down at him, as he spoke for the first time. "While this council understands you acted towards the benefit of the clan, your sloth in dealing with the Muramasa matter has allowed shame to befall the clan." 

Byakuya could feel his headache. It seems, regardless of how swiftly he dealt with the matter, the council wouldn't be satisfied. Did they think him a god? Ginrei wouldn't be showing up to explain and smooth things over; he had never looked back after leaving to join the Soul King's Guard. His supporters in the clan were few and far between so no one would come to his defense. 

"The results of Ginrei's failure are now the Kuchiki Clan great shame. To prevent further disgrace, you must find Koga as soon as possible." 

All things considered, he was grateful the elders hadn't demanded he remove the Kenseikan. There could be no greater shame than that, not after he had betrayed the 13 Court Guard Squads in the name of duty to his clan. 

"What did we expect? Nothing good can come from an outsider being brought into the clan." This was why he had chosen to stop Muramasa; the clan was hostile to outsiders; having Muramasa running around wreaking havoc would reinforce those married into the clan were less than. As far as he knew, his dead uncle was the only outsider they allowed in without protest. 

"On another matter, what were you doing when your Zanpakuto was galavanting around the Seireitei destroying our manner? How could you be so uncouth?" Irritation welled inside me instantly while the manor had been destroyed, Sennbonzakura was not at fault. He had been given explicit orders not to touch the clan to support the narrative of his betrayal.

The elder continued to speak, "There were direct sightings of your Zanpakuto." There were scuffled laughs that were poorly hidden from the back of the room. _Swine. What dastardly rumors had they spread in his absence?_ Fighting against such claims would be pointless. Even if they didn't know Senbonzakura's appearance, he could do little if they had claimed to be attacked by Senbonzakura his cherry petals are unmistakable. 

"Unfortunately, due to Muramasa, my Zanpakuto was beyond my control for a time." 

"Your Zanpakuto committed mutiny against the clan regardless of the circumstances and must be punished accordingly." The words brought forth unholy anger in him. They didn't just blame him? They also found fault in his Zanpakuto. Passing judgment on two parts of the same soul was rather unnecessary. But it seemed the Elders concluded he betrayed the clan twice through Senbonzakura's actions. 

Ridiculous. 

"Daichi suggested that your Zanpaukto might learn respect for the clan if it served your cousins for the foreseeable future. The council sees no problem with this reasoning." The words induced a skin crawling feeling he would have to let others touch a part of his soul? How distasteful. 

"My spiritual pressure is sealed at the moment the use of Senbonzakura will have to wait until permission has been granted." He'd been hoping to avoid divulging this information until his punishment was over, but it seemed doing so would be impossible. 

The elder nodded uncaringly. "Senbonzakura will be punished as soon as possible, your punishment will be carried out in the repentance chamber by Daichi" The look on his cousin's place was perverse and filled him with disgust. It was better to avoid associating with that pig but requesting someone else give out the punishment is pointless; the others were just as bad. 

"Gourou-san," Byakuyay said stiffly, the honorific felt unpleasant leaving his mouth. "I understand my faults regarding the current situation, I am willing to enter the repentance chamber." 

X~X~X~X~X

He occupied a cell with a narrow barred window high on it's outer wall. There is a single electric lamp hung overhead. The heat in the room was sweltering.

"Cousin isn't this a grand sight." Daichi sneered as Byakuya knelt on the ground. "It's about time your unruly behavior was corrected." 

Byakuya sighed inwardly. His cousin had no sense of decorum. His attempts at concealing his bloodlust were laughable. Daichi Kuchiki has always been a jealous, feeble man. Capable of little else than "hurting" Byakuya when the clan ruled him in need of punishment. 

_I'm at your mercy, I suppose._

He was currently bound in chains, but they were merely a pretense. While his spirit energy was sealed off, his physical abilities were more than capable of breaking his restraints whenever he saw fit. The only reason he was allowing this humiliation is that, to some extent, he had neglected his duty. Therefore it was now his duty to accept his punishment without protest. 

His cousin was consumed by his power trip at the moment. The look he was giving Byakuya was most unpleasant and have him the uneasy feeling that this would soon delve past standard punishment. The man was known throughout noble circles for having a ferocious appetite for the pleasures of the Seimei clan's Geisha houses. The Kuchiki clan had covertly paid damage fees for damaged merchandise on multiple occasions to avoid public disgrace. 

His concerns were founded no less than forty seconds later when Daichi left only to return with a thin spiked whip. The whip cracked several times in the air at an attempt in intimidation. 

"Shall we proceed with the punishment? Seconds later, the cool whip was leaving a burning sting on pale skin. Three strikes came down fast, quickly becoming ten. Byakuya was confident that his Daichi was destroying his back. He could feel the whip moving around the blood on his back. 

However, he was more concerned with holding back the battle hardened instinct to snap his restraints and kill his attacker. 

"You're just as pathetic as your father. Didn't he die a gruesome death at the hands of a Hollow?" If he felt his heart clench at the words, he ignored it. He should be above such insults by now enough time has passed. Besides, as loathe as he was to admit it, his father had always been sickly and fragile dying in his attempt to reach Bankai. Still, Daichi had no business speaking of strength when he was a great deal older than Byakuya and hadn't even achieved Shikai.

Byakuya groaned when a misplaced lash of the whip made contact with his Kenseikan entangling itself within the silver pieces. He restrained a scoff. The fool couldn't even aim his own weapon properly. If Daichi was embarrassed by his misstep, he didn't say violently, pulling the coarse leather out of the noble's hair jerking out a couple strands. 

It was going to be a long night. 

X~X~X~X~X

Our duty is to be useful, not according to our desires but according to our positions

Henri Fredric Amiel 

X~X~X~X~X

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you liked the chapter I finally got the Soul Society in. My goal is to update every two weeks. But... idk about chapter 3 I'm having trouble writing it so I started writing chapter 4.... I should really start writing these chapters in order. Anyways since this is self betaed please let me know if their any weird passages or glaringy obvious mistakes


End file.
